Jessica Houser

A founding member of the lady Lions, Jessica Houser was a leader on and off the field, and enough of a presence on the pitch to earn the nickname ‘La Casa’ from her teammates…and earn a call from national team selectors. After representing the Northeast in last year’s National All-Star Territorial Championship, Houser was picked for Eagle camp, and ended up playing for a U.S. developmental team against Canada’s A’s.

The Indiana native, 27, relocated to Chicago this fall to be closer to her family, but made a point of attending the Lions’ 15th anniversary dinner. It’s good she did, as Houser was part of the inaugural class of inductees in the Village Lions Hall of Fame. Earlier this month, Houser played second row for the Midwest in the All-Star Championship, and will once again attend Eagle camp with an eye on representing her country.

A PINT WITH: How does your new team compare to the Lions?
JH: Chicago’s got a little more experience, and the competition is much stiffer, playing a D-I schedule. They’re not nearly as social as the Lions. There’s no men’s team, and the women just aren’t that social. Then there’s the driving thing – we’ll go out on Thursday after practice, have one beer, and go home.

APW: What else do you miss about New York?
JH: I miss the convenience – that you can hop on a train and be anywhere pretty quickly. The first couple times I went anywhere on the train in Chicago, it took me forever. I was thinking, it’s only four stops, it’ll take X amount of time, based on New York. I was in for a rude awakening.

I also miss that the Lions were always doing something year-round – rugby, soccer, touch -- always getting together a couple times a week. I saw my teammates at our Christmas party last weekend, and it was the first time in a long time that I’d seen them.

APW: You sound a little lonely…
JH: A little bit, yeah. Part of it is that I’m miserable in my job. I’m teaching in a really difficult school, with a very challenging administration. There are lots of gang problems, and they have not been handled very well. Last week the fire alarm was pulled seven times. Me being the naïve teacher, I thought it was just students being obnoxious. But one of my students told me they pull them so they can go outside and get weapons, because we don’t set up metal detectors for when they come back in. I sort of freaked out when I heard that.

Ninety-five percent of the students are great, but there are things the administration could do differently, and instead they pit the students against the teachers, and teachers against the students. It’s not the best work environment. I probably haven’t been proactive about getting out and meeting people, because I’m drained. That said, I’m applying to graduate school.

APW: What do you want to study?
JH: Clinical psychology.

APW: Is Chicago as windy as they say?
JH: The coach I play for is crazy, and she has all these funny quirks. One of them is that she quizzes us at practice about Chicago history. One of the first things I learned when I moved to Chicago was that it’s called the Windy City because of filibustering, not the wind.

APW: Have you met any long-winded politicians since you’ve been there?
JH: No, but I did meet Barack Obama. A friend from college is this idealistic lawyer who works on campaigns, and she invited a bunch of us college friends to this event in a very Indian/Pakistani neighborhood that Obama was speaking at. So we show up, and it’s a typical VFW hall – chintzy tables, everyone brought their grandma out. We were the only white people there, and probably the only ones under 35.

Barack Obama walks in and makes a beeline for our table. People are trying to stop him, talk to him and take his picture, and he’s like, excuse me, I need to talk to these people. We’re like, this is weird -- he’s in an Indian neighborhood, and he makes a beeline for the white table? He shakes our hands and says, “Thank you for all the long hours and hard work you put in on my campaign!” Then he left, and we were like, my god, we’ve just been stereotyped! Barack Obama just stereotyped us!

APW: How was playing for the Midwest at the National All-Star Championship?
JH: Overall, the experience was good, but it’s a bit more political than when I played for the Northeast. I ended up a bit frustrated. The coach took four second rows -- two of them are Eagles, and the other one was one of the coach’s players. I knew I wasn’t going to get a lot of playing time, and it ended up being one of those things that didn’t get explained, and wasn’t handled very well.

But at the end of the weekend, [U.S. coach] Kathy Flores pulled me aside and gave me a little pep talk. She told me she knows some things were going on with the team, and she wasn’t going to let them affect the way she viewed us. She said she wouldn’t so much look at how long we played, but what we did with the time we were given. That was awesome. That conversation alone was worth the plane ticket.

APW: So what’s next for the national team?
JH: I just found out this week I’m invited to the Eagle trials in February, which is what I did last year. After that, some people get picked for another trial in April, and they select the team for the Churchill Cup after that.

APW: What are your thoughts on being selected into the Lions Hall of Fame?
JH: I was speechless that evening, and I still am. I don’t know what to think – I’m very honored. And to be inducted with the first group, with those three guys [Alan Whelan, Thierry Langlais, Ken Murphy] – you can imagine all the stories I heard over the years about the old Lions. I was just really honored.

I told my parents, and they were thrilled – they actually sent me a gift. I told them, ‘you guys understand that this is just something my club does – this isn’t actually some Hall in Ohio.’ They were like, yeah, we know.

Quick Facts:

• Job? Public High school English Teacher
• Residence? South side of Chicago
• Best Lions Memory? I've always loved watching brand new players "get it" - that moment when they stop bumbling and just run forward with the ball or stop being offsides and make their first crushing tackle. But I'd have to say the Spring 2000 season - the whole jumbled mess of memories that trickles back to me every now and again - from CAS to 118 Greenpoint. There were so many lightbulb moments on and off the pitch for all of us and we all felt like we were part of something unique and magical. I'm probably closer with people who are currently playing, but that spring is where my mind drifts to most often. Although, the recent older vs. younger game will soon take its place in the highlight reel for so many reasons. . .
• Most Valuable Teammate? Erin Martschenko or Katie Pisano - two different eras but both share whatever quality it is in really excellent athletes that, in addition to their own abilities, makes those around them better players.
• Favorite Beer? Budweiser
• Clay Aiken or Ruben Studdard? Bruce Springsteen