Kim Kardashian is a "Soccer mom"

The photo of Kim Kardashian with Florentino Perez radiates an immense aura—it’s certainly not common to see two such influential figures from entirely different fields come together for a snapshot that almost seems to transcend reality. The patron of the Blancos welcomed one of the most successful entrepreneurs to his home, the recently renovated Santiago Bernabeu; Saint West, Kim Kardashian and Kanye West's son, took to the field alongside his idol Vinicius Jr., fulfilling the dream of any child obsessed with soccer. Finally, the two posed for a photo with Thibaut Courtois and his partner: in other words, a "normal" evening at the stadium with mom, son, and friends. It wasn’t West Jr.'s first time at the stadium: in March 2023, he witnessed Arsenal's defeat to Sporting Lisbon and then took the field with Lionel Messi in the July 2023 match between Inter Miami and Los Angeles Galaxy.

In short, Kim Kardashian is fully embodying the role of a "Soccer mom", a popular slang term that became well-known in the United States between the 1950s and the 1990s, and again in the 2000s, not limited to its literal meaning. Indeed, Kim Kardashian herself has defined herself as such, as seen in the caption of one of her recent Instagram posts: "MADRID SOCCER MOM TOUR 2024".

What is a Soccer Mom?

In fact, the expression only partly refers to motherhood and football. The popularity of Football mum was boosted around 2008 by the release of Gregory McClatchy's comedy of the same name. The very simple plot revolves around a football-obsessed mum (Wendy, played by Missi Pyle) who poses as a famous Italian football star (Lorenzo Vincenzo) to coach her daughter's football team, the Mar Vista Galaxy. The film helped to clarify the cliché of the mother who accompanies her children to sporting activities. Thanks to the role of actress Missi Pyle, the image of the Football Mom in pop culture became even more accurate: she's portrayed as a middle-class North American woman who usually drives an SUV or a minivan.

Despite the non-literal meaning of Soccer mom—as it is still used today in reference to any other type of sports activity—it originates from the literal and specific description of a mother who accompanies and watches her children play soccer. It has also been used as the name of organizations composed of mothers aimed at raising funds to support their children's soccer teams. In short, the issue of soccer moms is a serious one in English-speaking countries (yes, even in the UK where the word "soccer" is not well-regarded): there are threads on Reddit where soccer moms discuss the best cars to drive their children to sports, and platforms like Quora even talk about "quintessential suburban soccer mom cars".

We can certainly assert that Kim Kardashian does not belong to the middle class and that instead of driving a Chrysler or Nissan SUV, she prefers to be chauffeured by private drivers. Considering her social standing, we might even imagine her taking her children to golf or tennis lessons. But the world’s most famous entrepreneur, who has never hidden her attachment to soccer, especially when she wore the Roma jersey from the 1997/98 season, has chosen to make us rediscover this term in a new light, while still embracing some fundamental aspects of the Soccer mom aesthetic, often favoring comfortable sweatpants—the shapes and lines of YEEZY Seasons have indeed served a purpose. After Kim Kardashian was spotted at Camp Nou hugging Florentino Pérez while wearing an outfit as a spectator at "grassroots" teams, we’ll probably have a completely different idea of what a Soccer Mom is.