More than 3,000 fans showed up to The Anthem in Washington, D.C., to support the Washington Spirit before their 2026 NWSL regular-season home opener.
In a sold-out event on Sunday afternoon, fans were treated to music by Queen HD the DJ, the first-ever performance by the Spirit Dance Crew dance team, a poem by Kayla Nelson, and a host of guest appearances.
Similar to last year’s Spirit Fest, the most popular feature of the event was the meet-and-greet with the players. With the Anthem quickly becoming standing room only for the sold-out event, food and drinks were readily available after navigating the massive lines for Spirit merch, and of course, the meet-and-greets. Andi Sullivan, Aubrey Kingsbury, and other fan-favorites were made available throughout the event.
The Spirit heard the requests by fans and players over the years and delivered with their first-ever cherry blossom-themed kit, aptly labeled “Spirit in Bloom”. The kits debuted last week and have quickly become the talk of the league and the city, arriving just in time for “peak bloom” (if you haven’t seen it in D.C., it’s a must).
“I’m a huge fan of the cherry blossom kit!” said Spirit defender Kate Weisner during her time with the press. “This is so special to D.C., like when I first got here, everyone was like ‘cherry blossoms!’ That was the thing everyone was talking about, and to now wear that on our jersey and continue to connect? It’s really cool to wear and represent that on the field as well.”
Spirit forward Gift Monday and defender Paige Metayer shared similar sentiments about the new kit. “It’s amazing, I love it! It’s one of a kind, and I can’t wait to rock them,” said Monday. “I know it’s been a few years in the making, so I think it’s really cool,” Metayer began. “I know we’re one of the last teams to get one, so I’m just really excited to have it.”
Spirit players Gabby Carle, Deb Abiodun, Hal Hershfelt, and others walked in the wildly popular Spirit Fashion Show. The catwalk was a hit with fans, as gauged by the crowd’s response. It might’ve been the club’s first fashion show, but it certainly won’t be the last.
On stage, fans gained insight into new players and old favorites through candid conversations. Players like Emma Gaines-Ramos, Hal Hershfelt, and Claudia Martínez were available to share hobbies, offseason activities, and personally invite fans to attend their home opener this Friday, March 13, at Audi Field.
During a conversation with Kate Weisner, we were informed that the club had just three trainings left together before the start of their season on March 13. With so little time together after the international break, I asked Paige Metayer how the team had managed to gel in such a short period.
“I think it’s always interesting when we have this long international break before the first game. As (Gift) Monday knows, we’ve had very few people at training the past few weeks, just because (laughs), I mean, you can see the majority of our team is on international duty. So it has been interesting, obviously, we’ve learned a lot in our first few weeks of preseason altogether. As you said, a lot of new faces, but also sticking to the principles that the majority of the team already knows. So, a combination of bringing those people into our standards, into our principles, but also learning how to work with these new faces as well.”
Just recently, it was reported that the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations would be postponed until late summer. Following discussions with FIFA and various stakeholders, the tournament – originally planned for March 17 to April 3 – will now take place from July 25 to August 16, 2026. The Spirit’s two Nigerian internationals, Gift Monday and Deb Abiodun, shared differing views on the postponement (but agreed it wasn’t good for women’s football).
“I saw it (the postponement) as a great opportunity because I like to pick out the positive things in every situation,” Monday began. “I’ll use that time to prepare myself ahead of the national team. It’s been quite a long time since I’ve been with the national team, and I don’t feel like I’m completely ready to get straight into the national team and straight into the WAFCON because it’s like a playoff to the World Cup. For me, it’s to my advantage and using that opportunity to start the season, get used to tough games, and then being prepared for what’s ahead of me.”
“It’s quite sad and heartbreaking, honestly,” Deb began. “It rubs us (African players) the wrong way because I think we deserve better. There should be the same formalities to these things. You see what happens in AFCON in men’s football, this shouldn’t happen with the women’s. We deserve better, especially being in qualification for the World Cup. It’s something that should be done and done well.”
After talking with the newly-hired Spirit President, Haley Carter, there are two exciting bits to report. First, after I asked if we could expect different hair dye colors this season (it’s a bleached, short mohawk right now), it spiraled into her agreeing to dye it cherry blossom pink and green to match the kit if the team wins the triple (NWSL Shield, NWSL Championship, and Concacaf W) or letting the fans decide. Secondly, the club will announce a new international signing on Wednesday or Thursday this week. “We have another (international). You’ll see it soon enough (the roster will be released Wednesday or Thursday).”
In a show of transparency, Carter shared real examples of transfer economics and used the trade of beloved midfielder Croix Bethune as an example. “Croix’s transfer fee covered the cost of Claudia Martínez. Then, with the funds leftover, we were able to re-sign Tara (Rudd). That’s an immediate turn into an investment into the roster.”
The Washington Spirit look to repeat the success of their 2025 season when they host their 2026 season opener on Friday, March 13, against the Portland Thorns. Tickets are still available for Friday’s match.
-Jon Jones
Photos: Eyoel Fassil
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