Harlingen Honeys’ Bernnize Fonseca likes to win. Correction, she doesn’t just like to win, she wants to win; not just on the football field but in everything.
In fact, Fonseca’s favorite motto is Vince Lombardi’s “Winning is not everything, but wanting to win is.”
This drive to win has helped her team immensely.
However, her return almost didn’t happen.
After leaving the game for three years, Fonseca saw an old playing buddy that convinced her to return. And as Fonseca states, it didn’t take much to get her back on the field, “it was just that little twist of my arm to get me out there again.”
Now, thanks to Fonseca and a few other players that returned, the Honeys are back in the playoffs ready to take on their next challenge.
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Q: How did you get into playing football?
A: I’ve always been a sports fanatic, especially football. It was the one thing I couldn’t play in school because I am a female. I grew up watching my brother and cousins play in junior high and high school. I remember saying if there was ever a girl’s team, I would join.
Q: You were part of the original Valley Vixens, but then you stopped playing and now you have found your way back on the field mid-season. What inspired you to come back?
A: I stopped playing, but never once forgot about it. I was out for three years and had been thinking about it a lot lately. I was about to go out for a bike ride with my friend and that’s when I saw my friend, Adri “A-Train” Rodriguez. First thing out of her mouth was, “B, you have to come play!” I hadn’t seen or heard from her in the three years I was out. I laughed, of course, but it was just that little twist of my arm to get me out there. Adri says it was destiny. I think so, too!
Q: What’s the best advice you would give to another woman thinking about joining a football team?
A: Don’t think twice about it. Just do it! Don’t be scared. Be the confident woman your mother taught you to be. It’s a great way to relieve stress. There will always be a position on the team for you. In the end, if you don’t like it you can always support your team.
Q: The Honeys started out the season 0-3, however after an influx of new players and players returning from injuries some people believe the team’s dynamic has changed for the better. What do you think the reason is behind the Honeys’ late season resurgence?
A: We are more focused. We know we have the ability to do more. We are coming together and we’re clicking, and we couldn’t do it without the coaches and the rest of our support system, our families and our fans.
Q: What is the team’s mentality heading into today’s first-round playoff game?
A: WE ARE READY! We are focused. We know what we want. We have our heads on straight and we want to show everyone what we can do. We are going to lay it all out there on that field whether it be rain or shine and bring home that “W.”
Q: what is the toughest team you have ever played against?
A: The Rockport Her-ricanes. They have a great team. We lost one game to them and tied the second one. They’re well- rounded and very professional. Great sportsmanship! They play it how it should be played. We have mad respect for them as a team.
Q: From all of your time playing the sport, what is your fondest memory?
A: My fondest memory would have to be when we grew up playing as kids on the streets with teams made up of siblings and cousins, and my dad/uncles as QB. We literally played on the streets in front of my grandparents’ house. And a lot of the time we played tackle. That’s when I first fell in love with the sport.
Q: What’s the most ridiculous thing you have bought in the past and regret doing so?
A: I love animals. I bought miniature goats and left them at my ex’s parents’ house because they had the space. I would have to go feed the goats before work (I worked 3-11). What I regret is having to constantly buy more and more food because they would trick the parents into feeding them again because they would cry as if they were hungry and hadn’t been fed.
Q: If you could have lunch with anybody (past or present), who would it be? Why?
A: Everyone should know my answer. J.J. Watt. He is an amazing person on and off the field. I love watching him play! He is such an inspiration. I know I could learn so much from him.
