Bre’s fearless first season with the Minnesota Vixen Female Football Team
1. The unlikely rookie
Bre, take me back to the moment you decided that, at 45 years old—after college hockey, rugby, raising three boys, coaching and building a career—you were going to put on football pads and become a rookie. Who did you tell first, and what was their reaction?
Bre Berry: Well, I told my boys first that I was going to try out for this team. I had heard about the Vixen when my 11-year-old was actually two, and one of his babysitters said, “I’m playing women’s professional football.” And I said, “What?” And I said, “Well, I could do that,” but at that point my kids were too young. So I taught them how to cook. They know how to make steak, ramen, eggs, and I said, “I’m going to go do this for myself,” because it’s been 20 years since I have had the opportunity to do something truly for myself.
2. A lifetime in women’s sports
You played Division I hockey at UMD during the 1999–2000 season, which was also the era when the Minnesota Vixen were just getting started. Having now experienced both sports from the inside, how have you seen the world change for women and girls who want to compete in traditionally male-dominated sports?
Bre Berry: I see the level of play has accelerated greatly, especially in women’s hockey and women’s basketball. And I guess it stems back to the fact that I had to play boys’ sports growing up. I played boys’ hockey until they got bigger than me and were gunning for me. And so now that women have a playing field where they can compete and be aggressive and be truly who they are without judgment is an awesome opportunity for all of these women.
3. Meet the football version of Bre Berry
For people who know you as a mother, coach or real-estate professional, who does Bre Berry become when the helmet goes on? Is there a game-day alter ego, ritual, song, nickname—or particular brand of trash talk—that your teammates know is coming?
Bre Berry: I wasn’t really the trash-talking type on this team. I’m literally a rookie—from never playing football before. Not just a rookie on the team, not a rookie to women’s professional sports, but a rookie to football. So there was a lot of learning that went into this, and I kind of played the role as team mom. I’d show up with snacks, be encouraging to people when they were down, and so I kind of took on a different role than the trash-talking type. But toward the end of the season, I was really starting to get the hang of it, and yes, I could talk a little trash.
CP: Any favorite trash-talking lines?
Bre Berry: No. I really enjoyed, at practice, harassing our quarterback—our starting quarterback, Erin Kelly—because she would get really bent out of shape if I would tease her or be able to pursue her. And so that was just really fun.
4. Understanding the weight of the jersey
The Vixen have been playing since 1999 and had reached the championship game four times without winning it. As a first-year player, what did the veterans tell you about those previous teams and losses, and when did you begin to understand how much history you were carrying onto the field?
Bre Berry: There wasn’t a lot of talk about previous losses. There was a whole mentality this year about, like, “We are winning this.” Everyone had that on their plate. Even when I started coming to practice, and I knew I wasn’t going to play a lot and I knew I wasn’t going to start, I was like, “We are going to win this whole thing this year.” There was just an energy surrounding all of us. And let me tell you, it was really, really hard. It was a ton of work—every practice, driving to practice in rush hour, going to West St. Paul from Minnetonka, showing up, getting hit repeatedly, and then the ride home. Getting out of the car was tough after all that physical work.
5. What the public does not see
Vixen players are balancing football with full-time jobs, families, travel, training and everyday life. What did this championship season actually demand from you—in time, sleep, physical pain or sanity—and who made it possible for you to keep showing up?
Bre Berry: Well, there were a lot of factors in this. We pay to play still, so we have a team fee that we have to pay in order to show up. I was able to raise a lot of money because I know a lot of wonderful people, and that went into my team account. So I had a ton of sponsors, which enabled me to pay for, I think, six other players’ dues for the season, or at least help them with those dues. We carpooled a lot to games. It was a lot of travel. We pay for our hotels. We pay for our food on the road. And there were a lot of times, just based on the physical—physical intensity of this game. Going into contact on every ball snap is not a sport I’ve played before, so I had to get used to that. And there were many, many days I thought I was going to throw in the towel. Instead, I just kept showing up because I’m not a quitter.
6. The moment this team became different
You lost to St. Louis during the regular season, beat them convincingly in the playoff rematch, and then came back from 14 points down against Salt Lake City before winning on a last-second field goal. Was there a specific moment during that run when you thought, “This team is different—we may actually win the whole thing”?
Bre Berry: I had referenced this earlier, but I thought from the very beginning, like, “This is it. This is the team. We are going to win the national title this year.” And I think a lot of us all had that feeling. We really came together as a team. We put in the extra work. We pushed each other at practice to the utmost inside what we were doing. There was never a day that I went to practice and said I didn’t give my all. So it was a learning curve, especially for us rookies, but the vets really made us step up to the plate and push to achieve greatness.
7. Walking into the championship
Put us beside you in Canton on championship day—from waking up that morning to the bus ride, the locker room and walking toward the field. What could you see, hear and physically feel, especially knowing that your sons and a national television audience would be watching?
Bre Berry: Well, having the opportunity to play in Canton at the Football Hall of Fame was a really neat experience. We don’t always get stellar facilities to play in, and we got a beautiful locker room. We were provided with things that we needed for that game. But waking up that day, and before getting on the bus, one of our coaches had written us a poem. It was pretty funny. We all rode together to the stadium, and there was just an energy about that day—about how we were there to claim the national title. It had been too long for the Minnesota Vixen, and it was time for us to take this title.
Interviewer: Did you feel nervous with your sons watching?
Bre Berry: No. I love it when my kids watch because they’re my number one supporters. My 20-year-old, Malachi, and my 11-year-old, Anric, came with on that trip, and they were so excited. They were cheering the entire game.
8. A defensive takeover
The defense created chaos almost immediately and ultimately forced five turnovers. From your perspective as a defensive lineman, what was the plan against Pittsburgh, and what happened on the field that made you realize, “We are not letting this championship get away from us”?
Bre Berry: A big thing for us the whole season was all about creating chaos. And if we could do that and they didn’t know what was coming, we would be able to dominate the game, because defense wins championships. Our defensive coordinator, Coach Tim Cornish—he is a Wayzata grad—really instilled in us to communicate and to just keep going, and to do things based off your instincts.
Bre Berry: I realized—I think our whole team realized—that if we could show up to play, we were ready. We watched film on Pittsburgh. We were prepared for the game, and I don’t think they were prepared at all, because we hammered on them from the very first ball snap. It was almost like they spent the two weeks preparing for this by not doing anything. So we were ready. We came ready.
9. The unfiltered celebration
When the clock finally reached zero, who did you find first, what came out of your mouth, and what did your boys say when you connected with them afterward? Give me the unfiltered Bre Berry version of that moment.
Bre Berry: Well, I knew we had won when the clock was just winding down, and I was giving hugs to my teammates. The camaraderie that I’ve built on this team has been phenomenal. But after the game, I ran over to the stands to greet my boys, and they were so happy and so proud. I even got some really decent playing time, and I had a pursuit on the quarterback for Pittsburgh, which was really fun. But really, it was just a blessing to be able to be on a team with these women, pushing for the common goal—and that was that championship.
Interviewer: Your boys were proud of you?
Bre Berry: Oh, so proud. So proud. Snapchat moments, all of it—recording me playing. It’s really interesting because we’ve taken a full 180. I used to be driving my 20-year-old and my kids to sports, and now my 20-year-old is driving me to my sporting events.
10. Rookie, champion—and now what?
At 45, you became a rookie and a national champion in the same season. What do you want women who believe their opportunity has passed—and young girls whose opportunities are just beginning—to hear from you? And be honest: are you retiring on top, or coming back to cause more trouble?
Bre Berry: I believe I’ll be coming back to cause more trouble. But I want women and girls to know that you should take the risk. You should go out there. If you’ve ever wanted to try something new, just do it. Everybody’s so worried about themselves. No one’s going to see you make a mistake or screw up. Just go out there and risk it all, because you only have one life that you remember.
CP: What made you risk it all with this?
Bre Berry: It was time. Like I said, I’d been a mom for 20 years, and it was time for me to do something for myself again. I knew it was going to be hard, and it was very, very hard—physically, emotionally, time-wise, financially. But I took the risk, and I had the time of my life.
CP: If you were not a mom and you were 20 years younger—we graduated together in 1999 from Wayzata—let’s say at 23 years old, would you have joined the Vixen then? Or do you think the timing of your life is the reason you joined? Would you have done this in an alternate life and started younger?
Bre Berry: Well, during that time I was still playing competitive rugby, so I probably would have pursued that further at that point. But I also feel like I’m at the point in my life where I don’t let fear reside inside of me. I step out and I confront things that might scare me a little bit, to see if I can accomplish goals that I’ve kind of had on the back burner. There’s no time like the present to step up and see what you can do.
