Sami Grisafe not only led the U.S. team to victory at the International Federation of American Football women’s world championship in Finland last year, the California native also wowed the crowd with a tough but tender rock ‘n’ roll rendition of the national anthem before the final game.
Her national anthem got more than 38,000 views on YouTube and was hailed by The Huffington Post as “one of the most stunning versions of ‘The Star Spangled Banner’ we’ve ever heard.”
The multitalented singer-songwriter, 28, plays quarterback for the Chicago Force women’s tackle football team, the 2013 champions of the 42-team Women’s Football Alliance. We caught up with Grisafe (gri-SAH-fee) for a chat at a North Side coffee shop and a photo shoot at the Lane Tech high school stadium, where the Force will host this year’s WFA championship game. The following is an edited transcript of a conversation with Grisafe.
Q: When did you get interested in football?
A: I was 10. I lived on a street with a bunch of boys, and, truthfully, I was always kind of an honorary boy. My buddy, he was going to this football camp that the high school put on for free, and I didn’t want to stay at home and play alone, so I was like, “Can I just go with you?” Just, basically, because I wanted to hang out with him, not because I had an affinity for football. So I went and I fell in love, and I’ve been playing ever since.
Q: And you played on Redlands High School’s boys’ varsity team?
A: I was the first girl in California to play quarterback in a varsity Division I game, which is the highest level of (boys) football in California, and California’s one of the biggest football states.
Q: Why did you quit the team?
A: When I got to be a junior, I decided I should probably focus on something that’s going to give me a scholarship, so I switched to volleyball. And then I fell in love with acting, and that’s what I ended up getting my scholarship for. I got a scholarship to the Chicago College of Performing Arts at Roosevelt (University) and got my bachelor of fine arts in acting.
Q: Acting and football: Any parallels?
A: There are a lot of parallels in arts in general and in sports. They move you in a way that nothing else can — it’s visceral — and that’s what I really love about both.
Q: You had your ups and downs during your first few years with the Force.
A: Yes, I definitely hit some hard times. I was having an issue with leadership. I was young and I was trying to lead a group of women with an age range of 18 to 40. To be quarterback and to be young is a difficult and daunting task. Especially in women’s football. The football field is the only place where a bartender-musician can say to a lawyer, “Get your (expletive) together” — pardon my French. It’s an interesting dynamic and it’s really difficult to figure out how to be a leader.
Q: What’s your advice to other young people in leadership positions?
A: You always want to tell the truth, but if I’m concerned about how we’re playing, I can’t go out there and be like, “Guys, what are we doing? I’m concerned!” You don’t want your general to tell you, “We’re probably all going to die!” There are moments when you have to save the truth for later.
Q: How do you recommend handling those crisis situations?
A: You’ve got to zero in, dodge the bullets that are flying at you and just make sure that everybody is confident. You have to believe in (people) sometimes even beyond what you think they’re capable of doing. And when you do, most of the time you’re (pleasantly) surprised, and that’s when the magic happens.
Q: How’s your music career going?
A: It’s going pretty well. I (got a good response to) my album (“Atlantis”). It was a collaboration with two other artists; it was originally designed for a Web series and then things started snowballing. And then the governor (Pat Quinn), he asked me to sing the national anthem at the bill signing for the Marriage Fairness Act. He told me, “You threw a touchdown with that anthem, Sami!” I just got back from a tour in New York, and I’m poised to tour in California from March through early April.
Q: Will you still be playing football in 10 years?
A: My body would probably allow me to play another eight to 10 years, but I don’t want to be miserable when I’m 50, and I really want to get this (music) career going. I was going to retire last year, but we just got the bid — we’re hosting the National Championship at Lane Tech Aug. 2 — so I’m going to do everything in my power to make sure I can help my team get back there and that we can win in Chicago in the greatest season — the summer. That’s my charge: to go out in this great city, champions.
Chicago Force schedule: wfafootball.net.
Drawing inspiration
Sami Grisafe says a Janis Joplin quote is basically her North Star as a performer and writer. In an interview with a Swedish documentary filmmaker, Joplin was asked why young people connected to her music. “She said, ‘I just don’t think people want to be lied to, man,’ ” Grisafe says, adding that in her own case, “As long as I’m telling the truth onstage, as long as I’m telling the story honestly and with integrity, then I’m good.”
