When asked if she felt tired after spending over an hour taking pictures with hundreds of fans, Ilona Maher gave her answer to Taylor Swift.
“I'm often tired, but as Taylor Swift said, 'I'm often tired, but never bored.'”
The 28-year-old rugby union player from Burlington, Vermont, is referring to the fanfare that follows her every move.
Maher, who had just made his 20-minute debut with Bristol Bears, the English team he joined on a three-month contract, had to face a line of photographers more than 250 yards long, covering three sides of the pitch. . Some even traveled across the Atlantic from Washington, D.C., to see athletes who have now transcended the sport. A bronze medalist at the 2024 Olympics, last year on the cover of Sports Illustrated's swimsuit edition, and a spot on Forbes' 30 Under 30 list, Maher's fame continues to snowball. I am.
Maher wasn't expected to spend as much time as all the fans who attended her debut at Bristol, but she did. “I saw the line of people staying outside and thought, 'Let's take as many pictures as possible,'” she told reporters.
With more than 8 million followers on Instagram and TikTok combined, Maher is the most followed rugby player in the world. She took fans behind the scenes at the last Japan Olympics in 2021, when fans were prohibited from attending due to continued pandemic-related restrictions, and is also a must-see in several sketches on Saturday Night Live Have a good sense of humor. This, combined with her back catalog of empowering and body-confidence video messages, has helped her reach a worldwide following, many of them young women and girls.
Maher came on as a second-half substitute for Bristol Bears on Sunday (Dan Mullan/Getty Images)
More than 9,000 people attended Maher's debut event in Bristol, a city in western England just over 100 miles from London, known among others as the birthplace of street artist Banksy. And Ma seeks the same level of excitement in everything he does, as he does when the anonymous political activist's latest work makes headlines.
Less than 72 hours after her move to England was announced, Sunday's game against local rivals Gloucester-Hartpury was moved from Shaftesbury Park (the 2,000-capacity venue where the team usually plays) to Bristol's home ground. It was replaced by Ashton Gate, a 27,000 capacity stadium. City's men's and women's soccer teams and the Bears' men's rugby team.
At that point, Maher, whose every move was being watched by documentary filmmakers from Hello Sunshine (a production company focused on telling women's stories founded by actor Reese Witherspoon) , there was no guarantee that he would play in the game even after being named. Substitutions will be made on the team sheet 48 hours before kick-off. However, the team's record of 4,101 attendees, set in 2022, was broken. No single match in Premiership Women's Rugby (PWR) has ever attracted such a large crowd.
Rose Cooper Johnson is a fellow New Englander from Rhode Island who has lived in England for the past six years. The 29-year-old works in student communications at the University of the West of England, based in Bristol, but until Sunday he had never seen rugby live.
“I was really excited when I heard she was coming to Bristol,” Cooper-Johnson says. Athletic. “She's been on 'Dancing with the Stars' (Maher was runner-up on that show in November) and she's been really cool and inspirational. I hope she inspires more people to love women.” If she can inspire people to get involved in sports, that's great. She has the ability to bring people together.”
Maher takes a selfie with a fan after making his debut with Bristol Bears (Dan Mullan/Getty Images)
Maher's arrival in England will always be a shock.
She made a dramatic contribution to helping the U.S. women's rugby sevens team win an Olympic bronze medal in the finals in Paris last summer, and now the sport's 15-a-side rugby sevens team will last more than four times as long (80 minutes). I timed the transition. until the 14th minute), the number of players on the pitch is doubled and the matches are generally more expendable and perfect. This is a World Cup year, and Maher is aiming for a spot on the U.S. national team. The tournament will open on August 22nd with host England taking on the United States.
Friends Lucy Parkinson, Elvira Berninger, Abbey Bevan and Maria East traveled 130 miles from Bournemouth on England's south coast for Sunday's must-go moment. Ta. Rugby union teammates at Ellingham & Ringwood RFC, they usually only take part in international women's matches.
“We love all the other players, but she (Maher) was the instigator. We were 50-50 and we were like, 'Are you here just for the Ilona Maher effect?' did. Yeah, let’s enjoy the hype,” says Bevan. athletic, Meanwhile, East added that the attention paid to Maher “can only be good for rugby”.
even deeper
How 17-year-old darts phenomenon Luke Littler achieved sporting greatness
Chloe and Luke Glover are season ticket holders for the Bears men's team and regulars at Ashton Gate, but the couple had never attended a women's game until they were drawn into 'Maher fever'. “She got quite a bit of attention for it, so we thought we'd come see what it was all about,” says Luke.
A line forms near a food truck selling churros and pulled pork barbecue. Kathy and her 16-year-old daughter Jasmine, who also plays rugby union. “She (Maher) has had a huge influence on a lot of young girls starting or starting out in sports in general. Ilona’s addition has been a big buzz,” says Jasmine. “There are a lot of people around Bristol looking for a team to join and her addition will even just bring even more people here…Tickets were much harder to get this time .”
Ding's Crusaders' under-14 girls team did not have to worry about getting tickets as many of their players were employed to pick up loose balls during Sunday's game. Nellie MacDonald, 12, who plays for Dins, said she felt Marr had “already made a huge difference to everything”, and her mother Sam agreed: “We're already seeing more people coming here than before.”
After the game, Maher speaks with TNT Sports host Jenny Drummond (Dan Mullan/Getty Images)
The game was broadcast live on TNT Sports in the UK, and the league shared details of kickoff times in various time zones in a pre-game social media post.
Every time Maher's face appeared on the stadium's big screen, the thousands of spectators in the Dolman Stand and South Stand erupted in cheers. The decibels rose when her name was read out before kick-off and again when she was substituted in the second half.
Playing on the wing, wearing knee pads and wearing her now signature matte red lipstick, Maher suddenly launched into a nerve-calming tackle within seconds. The American likes to run with the ball in his hands, but Gloucester-Hartpury turned up the heat and gave the home side little room for action, with the visitors scoring six tries in total, 40-17. won.
Although Maher was unable to touch the ball during the game, her addition had the crowd and team elated. Bristol scored their third and final try four minutes after she was introduced.
Finally, after the final whistle, an hour and 11 minutes after he first started taking selfies with fans, Maher took his seat at his own postgame press conference.
“I try to be as equal as possible because they do as much for me as I do for them,” Maher said. “They bought seats, and those seats will lead to more seats. In order for this league to grow, we need fan income. So it almost feels like my obligation. They are working so hard, so I want to work even harder for them.
“Some people came from America, some even came from Washington, D.C., to watch this game… I published those (social media) videos for them. I want them to be confident, love themselves, play sports, and understand what their bodies are capable of. It's always really great to see them go out there and stick around. ”
Maher is humble yet confident as he takes ownership of the empire he has built. She achieved that without necessarily being the best player in women's rugby.
“It's cool to be the face of a sport that isn't considered a women's sport,” she said. “This is a men's sport. So to be the face of it and also because I feel that the influence that I have has spread across both men's and women's (rugby), I've worked with some of the best male players in the world. The crab told me, “Keep doing what you're doing.'' Because I think everyone sees value in that. And when someone stands up, we all stand up.
“I'm really proud of what I've done and the impact I've had on social media, not just what rugby means, but what body positivity means and how people treat themselves. So I'm proud. I think my family is 10 times more proud,” Maher added, as her sister Olivia, who moved to England with her, smiled from the back of the room. “And I love what I do.”
Millions of people do.
(Top photo: Dan Mullan/Getty Images)
