Yahoo Finance Sue Bird, Megan Rapinoe celebrate engagement by encouraging phone bank callers before election
Megan Rapinoe and Sue Bird are basking in that newly engaged life but with less than 36 hours until polls close for the 2020 presidential election there is still work to be done.
The power couple, who announced their engagement on Instagram late Friday, joined a Get Out the Vote phone banking event hosted by Victory 2020. The duo encouraged approximately 150 people, mostly from Washington, as they began their election eve by calling key battleground states to talk directly to voters in support of Democratic candidates.
Bird: Work for democracy ‘worth it’
Rapinoe and Bird joined callers for somewhat of a pre-game huddle before they went off to make calls on behalf of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris.
Bird, 40, said there are times when the couple wonder if the impact they’re trying to make with their activism is enough. It’s something many consider.
“It is. Everything we’re doing, it’s worth it. It’s beyond worth it. It has an impact. And it’s making such a huge difference,” Bird said on the Zoom call. “And again, we’re just so excited to be here to share this space with everyone. To hopefully excite you, to remind you the fatigue always kicks in. You gotta fight through it.
“That’s how you win gold medals, I guess, I don’t know,” said Bird, who has four Olympic gold medals with Team USA and won her fourth WNBA championship with the Seattle Storm last month.
Rapinoe won gold at the 2012 Olympics with the United States women’s national soccer team. They have back-to-back World Cup titles.
Rapinoe: It’s about more than Trump
Rapinoe’s opinions on Trump are well documented and include a very public spat during the 2019 World Cup in France. But this election is not about just the president, she said during the call. It’s about healthcare, LGBTQ rights and anything that impacts an individual’s life.
“It’s about our dignity. It’s about our future. It’s about living a better life,” the 35-year-old Rapinoe said. “We don’t have to live like this. These are all consequences of the choices that we as a country have made.”
She also reiterated a line from her speech at the 2019 World Cup parade in New York City. It’s a remark that has made it into commercials and inspirational clips.
“Something that we always talk about and that we always say is that everybody has a responsibility to do something to make the world a better place in whatever way they can be most impactful,” she said. “And this is you guys’ way right now. This is everyone’s way right now. We have to call people, we have to excite people.”
Fans congratulate Bird, Rapinoe on engagement
The appearance is one of the first, if not the first, since the couple announced their engagement on Instagram. Fans in the chat were excited about the news.
Yes it does ☺️❤️ Thank you! (Everyone go vote now) https://t.co/loh3Zk42rD
— Sue Bird (@S10Bird) November 1, 2020
The host also congratulated the couple and added in a year like 2020, anything happy is worth a big celebration. Another noted what an honor it was to have her two childhood heroes join in on a phone bank call the day before an election.
Bird and Rapinoe, who joined as her plus-one, remained active while in the “wubble” at IMG Academy in Florida during the 2020 WNBA season. Bird helped lead a campaign encouraging Georgia voters to cast their ballots for Raphael Warnock and both were seen in “Vote” apparel throughout the summer.
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