2026-04-02, 08:26 AM - Word count:
(This post was last modified: 2026-04-02, 01:47 PM by Metafiction. Edited 1 time in total.)
TOKYO — Juliette Greer isn’t afraid to admit she cried a little when she heard her name called.
“It’s just surreal,” she says of her Simulation Soccer League Draft experience. “You put in all this work and sometimes it feels like it’s for nothing, but then you get this reminder that it’s all going to be worth it.”
Greer has every right to be over the moon, as she was taken second overall in the SSL Draft by the Tokyo SC/Cairo City organization, the same organization that drafted her father Jude Greer 13 seasons ago.
Greer was at home watching media coverage of the draft, surrounded by her family and high school coaches and teammates as the club closest to her heart selected her.
“Everyone was there. Mom was crying, Dad gave me a big hug, my teammates mobbed me.” A huge grin crosses Greer’s face. “Best moment of my life.”
Today, Juliette finds herself on the training pitch in the shadow of the Nintendome, just a few miles from where she was born, as the Tokyo and Cairo squads meet up for their traditional joint preseason training.
“They took the new arrivals on a tour of the stadium,” Greer says. “When they took us out onto the pitch, I just knew I was home.”
Greer, a self-professed “goalscorer,” managed just two goals in her season with Port Royal FC in the SSL Academy. She’s hoping to be able to boost those numbers in her rookie season, in which she’ll be playing for Tokyo’s minor league affiliate, Cairo City FC. Greer says she’s already had a chance to meet some of her new teammates.
“I played against Ekon Ayo and Vivi Nefertari in the academy, so I know they’re both legit,” Greer says. “But I’ve already gotten to know them pretty well today. Ekon’s a bit of a nerd—in a good way—and Vivi keeps talking about this duck she says is her best friend. Not sure what that’s about, but she’s a lot of fun.
“I’ve heard about Bodhi Grizz too, but…I didn’t expect him to be an actual bear,” Greer added. “I don’t even know how a bear learned to play soccer in the first place. I’m cool with it, though, as long as he can still play me in. And I haven’t had much time to chat with Von [Nguyen] or Shep [Sheppard Vakarian] yet, but they seem cool too.”
Out of all of her new Cairo teammates, though, there’s one name Juliette is most struck by.
“I can’t believe I get to play alongside Momo Adamu,” Greer says, suddenly somewhat giddy. “He was one of Dad’s teammates! I used to watch them play together in Tokyo when I was younger. I know he’s retiring soon, but I’m honored to share the pitch with someone who means so much to both me and Dad.”
Adamu announced recently that the upcoming season would be his last in the SSL, and speculation abounds as to whether the Tokyo/Cairo icon will join Jude Greer on the organization’s coaching staff, take a job as a pundit or perhaps withdraw from the sport entirely.
Being taken so highly in the draft always brings a certain level of expectation, a feeling Juliette knows all too well. She’s felt the burden of comparisons to her famous father, and she knows that playing for the same team as he did will just intensify that feeling.
“Of course there’s more pressure,” Juliette says. “Tokyo’s my hometown team, and my dad played for them forever. People were already comparing me to him, and now they’re gonna do it even more. So now it’s my job to shut them up.”
And Juliette knows the perfect way to do just that.
“It’s obvious, isn’t it?” she says. “Dad never won a league title. He won a cup, he got to a hundred assists, but he never got to win the league. So if I help Tokyo win a Division One title, maybe then people will see me as a star in my own right.
“But mostly I’m just glad Alexi Lalas has been too busy to chime in in a while,” she added. “Probably having an aneurysm about Belgium or something.”
The coming season promises plenty of excitement as always, with the expanded schedule from last season giving more room for intrigue as teams will now play each other three times rather than twice over the course of the season. Even though Cairo isn’t one of the favorites to push for promotion into Division 1 of the Minor League, Greer nevertheless isn’t shy about her predictions for how her rookie campaign will go.
“We’re gonna make some noise,” Greer says. “I don’t know if we’ll be one of the best teams in the league, but I do think people are underestimating us. We’ve got a bunch of talent, but everyone’s sleeping on us. So I think we’re gonna turn some heads for sure.”
“It’s just surreal,” she says of her Simulation Soccer League Draft experience. “You put in all this work and sometimes it feels like it’s for nothing, but then you get this reminder that it’s all going to be worth it.”
Greer has every right to be over the moon, as she was taken second overall in the SSL Draft by the Tokyo SC/Cairo City organization, the same organization that drafted her father Jude Greer 13 seasons ago.
Greer was at home watching media coverage of the draft, surrounded by her family and high school coaches and teammates as the club closest to her heart selected her.
“Everyone was there. Mom was crying, Dad gave me a big hug, my teammates mobbed me.” A huge grin crosses Greer’s face. “Best moment of my life.”
Today, Juliette finds herself on the training pitch in the shadow of the Nintendome, just a few miles from where she was born, as the Tokyo and Cairo squads meet up for their traditional joint preseason training.
“They took the new arrivals on a tour of the stadium,” Greer says. “When they took us out onto the pitch, I just knew I was home.”
Greer, a self-professed “goalscorer,” managed just two goals in her season with Port Royal FC in the SSL Academy. She’s hoping to be able to boost those numbers in her rookie season, in which she’ll be playing for Tokyo’s minor league affiliate, Cairo City FC. Greer says she’s already had a chance to meet some of her new teammates.
“I played against Ekon Ayo and Vivi Nefertari in the academy, so I know they’re both legit,” Greer says. “But I’ve already gotten to know them pretty well today. Ekon’s a bit of a nerd—in a good way—and Vivi keeps talking about this duck she says is her best friend. Not sure what that’s about, but she’s a lot of fun.
“I’ve heard about Bodhi Grizz too, but…I didn’t expect him to be an actual bear,” Greer added. “I don’t even know how a bear learned to play soccer in the first place. I’m cool with it, though, as long as he can still play me in. And I haven’t had much time to chat with Von [Nguyen] or Shep [Sheppard Vakarian] yet, but they seem cool too.”
Out of all of her new Cairo teammates, though, there’s one name Juliette is most struck by.
“I can’t believe I get to play alongside Momo Adamu,” Greer says, suddenly somewhat giddy. “He was one of Dad’s teammates! I used to watch them play together in Tokyo when I was younger. I know he’s retiring soon, but I’m honored to share the pitch with someone who means so much to both me and Dad.”
Adamu announced recently that the upcoming season would be his last in the SSL, and speculation abounds as to whether the Tokyo/Cairo icon will join Jude Greer on the organization’s coaching staff, take a job as a pundit or perhaps withdraw from the sport entirely.
Being taken so highly in the draft always brings a certain level of expectation, a feeling Juliette knows all too well. She’s felt the burden of comparisons to her famous father, and she knows that playing for the same team as he did will just intensify that feeling.
“Of course there’s more pressure,” Juliette says. “Tokyo’s my hometown team, and my dad played for them forever. People were already comparing me to him, and now they’re gonna do it even more. So now it’s my job to shut them up.”
And Juliette knows the perfect way to do just that.
“It’s obvious, isn’t it?” she says. “Dad never won a league title. He won a cup, he got to a hundred assists, but he never got to win the league. So if I help Tokyo win a Division One title, maybe then people will see me as a star in my own right.
“But mostly I’m just glad Alexi Lalas has been too busy to chime in in a while,” she added. “Probably having an aneurysm about Belgium or something.”
The coming season promises plenty of excitement as always, with the expanded schedule from last season giving more room for intrigue as teams will now play each other three times rather than twice over the course of the season. Even though Cairo isn’t one of the favorites to push for promotion into Division 1 of the Minor League, Greer nevertheless isn’t shy about her predictions for how her rookie campaign will go.
“We’re gonna make some noise,” Greer says. “I don’t know if we’ll be one of the best teams in the league, but I do think people are underestimating us. We’ve got a bunch of talent, but everyone’s sleeping on us. So I think we’re gonna turn some heads for sure.”
![[Image: f3PLeZn.png]](https://i.imgur.com/f3PLeZn.png)
