Soccer team supports Sid Ortis with purple and gold

The No. 4-ranked Mountain Brook Girls Varsity Soccer Team’s game against No. 9 Spain Park would determining if they kept their No. 1 area ranking in the area and advance to the playoffs. But when they played April 9, their minds were on something bigger: a Mountain Brook friend of theirs battling cancer, Sid Ortis.

Sid's older brother, Andy, was a classmate of the seven seniors on the team, and they decided to dress in Sid's favorite colors and let his family know that they support and pray for him daily.  The girls said they are inspired by his positive attitude and how he is always staying strong.  

For the Spain Park game, the team decked out with the purple "Geaux Sid" T-shirts, purple and gold hair ribbons, and face tattoos. Balloons and purple and gold bows hung around the soccer field fence, and there were plenty of Sid shirts for all the players, coaches, team managers, ball girls and fans. Some Spain Park parents asked Mountain Brook parents what the shirts were for and if they could wear them, too.

Even Nicole Strahl, a junior on the team who broke her nose two nights before in a game against Gadsden, didn't want to miss the "Sid Ortis game against Spain Park," so she wore protective gear and a face mask playing in that game.

The girls were playing for Sid, and that was something bigger than a game.  It was just a small gesture to bring a smile to Sid's face, which was accomplished that night. In the end, they also defeated Spain Park 2-0. They play No. 3 Oak Mountain on April 15 and No. 8 Trussville on April 17. 

-Submitted by Rosemary Gillespie