McKennie said in an interview that if he lived in Alaska, he might become a world-class dog musher.

I don’t actually know much about Alaska. It’s cold there, and Anchorage is there, and it’s beautiful. But I know almost everything about it. When I was 6, my family almost moved to Alaska. Looking back now, I find it unbelievable, really, it’s so absurd. If I hadn’t moved to Germany later, but had spent three years in Alaska, what would I have become? Who would I be?

Even though I was just a normal kid back then, I was particularly good at sticking with one thing until the end. For example, if I played American football, I’d want to be the best. The same with basketball, no matter what it was, I wanted to be the best.

So, what if I went to Alaska? Maybe this story wouldn't be about Weston McKennie, but about "Weston the snowboarder." I can imagine it. Or... I don't know, I might become a world-class dog musher, winning a bunch of Iditarod championships. You know that famous dog sled race in Alaska, right? I really do think about these things from time to time. Because life is just that strange, you can only try to make the best of everything you have.

After we moved to Germany, I thought the same way. I didn't know much about the city of Kaiserslautern. My family moved there because my father was serving in the military, previously stationed at Fort Lee in Virginia, and then he was deployed to Germany. My brother, sister, and I were suddenly thrown into a brand new world. Everything we knew, everything we liked, was gone.

No more playing American football with the neighbor kids at the bus stop before school, no more sneaking out of the house to run to the playground down the cul-de-sac. Everything in Germany was new. So we started to adapt. I don't know exactly how it all started... but my brother John started playing football. For us, that was called "soccer"; but our new friends called it "football." We played more and more, really a lot.

I guess what I fell in love with was that sense of freedom. When I was little, I had a lot of energy, and soccer gave me an excuse to run and compete all afternoon or evening. I didn't have to wear pads, and I didn't have to wear a helmet. The game would stop every few minutes. That felt good. I remember one day, I went with John to watch him and some friends play. He was 14, I was 6. I just kicked the ball around near the sideline during warm-ups. The memory is a bit blurry, but there was a coach named David Müller in the park at the time. After the game, he walked up to John and said, "Hey, your little brother... he's pretty good. You should bring him to try out for my U-6 team."

We went home and talked to Mom, and she agreed. Dad said it was okay too. Following our family's usual rules, we respectfully replied, "Yes, sir." Then we went to practice. A few days later, I went to try out in a Polo shirt, khaki shorts, and American football cleats, because that's all I had. I didn't have a soccer jersey. I had only just started playing the sport a few months earlier. But none of that mattered, because I was fast. Even among 5-year-olds, I was ridiculously fast. Mom said I moved so fast that I left everyone else behind.

I made the team, and then I got real shorts and cleats.

And my first game—this is true, because David was my first coach, and I dare say he would never lie to me—I scored 8 goals. Eight.

That was also my last game on the U-6 team.

After that, I went to the U-8 team.

For an American kid, that’s not bad!

A few years later, in 2006, the FIFA World Cup came to Germany. I watched the US team beat Poland in a pre-tournament warm-up match. I also met Carlos Bocanegra, Landon Donovan, and a few other players. Man... I was completely hooked after that. Playing for your country? How cool is that. American football doesn't have anything like that.

When we later returned to the United States, I initially played both kinds of football. Sometimes even two games on the same day. Mom would hand me snacks on the way to games, and I'd change from shoulder pads to shin guards in the car. It was always like that.

Later, I slowly started to move away from one sport and saw a future in the other. Football was like a gift to me—a gift I would never have received if I hadn't spent time in Germany; nor could I have benefited from it without my parents' sacrifices. So, in 2016, when my agent Corey Gibbs called to tell me that Schalke was interested in signing me, it felt like fate. I had started all of this in Germany many years ago, and now, it was time to return to where it all began.

At that time, I only knew three clubs in Germany: Schalke, Bayern, and one other. But when I started researching Schalke and the city of Gelsenkirchen, I fell in love with the place. The fans are exactly the kind of people I like: hardworking, passionate, and loyal. That means a lot to me.

Now I’ve been here for three years, just like when I was a kid. And everything I read about Schalke was true. They’ve become a part of my identity. From the fans to my teammates and coaches, Schalke is a family.

I can’t wait to see what happens next for our family.

I know it's all over, but I still want to figure it out.

When I put on the US team jersey, I'm playing for every American girl. For those who want to see someone who looks like them, who want to see someone who can make them feel like their own story is just as important.

I'm writing this for my dad, my mom, and my brothers. Without them, I wouldn't be who I am today. I owe them everything.

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