It is just after 7 p.m. in Brooklyn, and the sun is setting. Across the East River, the night sky rises above the Manhattan skyline. This is the picturesque view that model Alexandria Morgan embraces in her new home of New York City.

"It's a dream come true," Morgan, 20, told ThePostGame about living in the Big Apple. "I grew up wanting to move to New York. I'd play Frank Sinatra's New York, New York. I'm overwhelmed with joy and happiness for all these wonderful opportunities I'm getting."



New York is a long way, both physical and culturally, from Morgan's hometown of Morton, Ill. The town of 16,000 is located in central Illinois, 10 miles southeast of Peoria

"I still think of myself as the girl from the cornfields of Illinois," she says. "It's so exciting and I'm so blessed. Everyone's so encouraging, especially my followers."

With 58,000 Instagram followers and 33,500 Twitter followers, Morgan has a formidable support group. Those numbers have spiked thanks to a recent TomTom ad Morgan started in, wearing a strapless bra.





TomTom, an automotive navigation systems manufacturer headquartered in the Netherlands, is best for its GPS devices. The product Morgan flaunts in her left wrist in the ad (yes, that is what consumers are supposed to see) is the TomTom Runner Cardio watch with a built-in heart rate monitor.

The ad is banned on TV, but it is going strong on YouTube. The video garnered more than 4,000,000 views as of Thursday morning. The clip is called "Alexandria Morgan runs strapless," as Morgan wears a strapless bra and the watch, which means she can measures her heart rate without a chest strap.



Morgan, whose modeling agency is Women Management, was ecstatic to get started with TomTom when approached with the idea.

"They came to me with the idea and I really liked it a lot," she says. "It's funny. It's kitsch. It's cute video fun and the kid in it was so nice."

Obviously outside parties did not agree with the angle -- visually and figuratively -- of the ad. Morgan says she is frustrated with the TV ban, calling it an overreaction.

"I wasn't expecting it to be banned," she says. "It's just a woman's body. You shouldn't be ashamed of that. It's empowering."

Despite the backlash, Morgan cannot be too upset. The video is still spreading across the world, a positive result for her and TomTom. She currently displays a screenshot of the video on both her Twitter and Instagram page, and it could be a strong career boost.

"It's incredible. I've had such positive reviews. It's really increased my following, she says. "I'm a runner. When you find a brand you can really get behind and they like you and you like them, a wonderful thing happens."

At 20, Morgan is not far removed from her childhood home and she is still spreading her wings in the modeling industry. According to Sports Illustrated, she was among those involved in the spring casting calls for the 2015 Swimsuit Issue.

After this TomTom ad, her friends and family expressed considerable support.

"They've been like, 'Oh my God I can't believe this. This is so cool.' And my mom watches me all the time and she's like, "I can't believe that's my daughter and there she is running.' Everyone's been so happy for me."

On Wednesday night, Morgan participated in a soccer pickup game at Brooklyn Bridge Park hosted by Audi and FC Bayern Munich. Along with Morgan, Bayern Munich legends Giovane Elber, Markus Babbel, Paul Breitner and Paulo Sergio took the pitch. Fellow celebrities Josh Henderson, Chris Tomson, Stacey Griffith and Kevin McHale (the actor from Glee, not the former Boston Celtic) also suited up. Actor Gerroll and writer Damian Lanigan were in attendance.

Bayern Munich is currently on a U.S. tour that will start with a match against Mexican side Club Deportivo Guadalajara at Red Bull Stadium in Harrison, N.J. on Thursday. The club meets the MLS All-Stars in Portland next Wednesday.

Morgan does not exactly have the soccer prowess of Bayern Munich stars, but she does have a sports background.

"I played in third grade on the orange team," she chuckles about the extent of her soccer background. "I was always more of a softball girl and basketball for my height, not my coordination."

Morgan says she played softball in high school. The world also knows she takes an interest in running ... strapless.

During the pick-up game, Morgan made noticeably aggressive runs from her left forward position. Any concerns about the model protecting her face over contributing on offense were negated. Although she did not score, Morgan was an asset for her squad. She also wore her TomTom Runner Cardio watch during the match.

As for her modeling career, the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue is possibly in her grasp, as well as other bridges. Morgan recently posed for Vogue Italia and will have 15 pages coming out in the fall. She is the current Model of the Week on models.com.

Morgan studied for one year at The King's College in New York, but has since taken time off to focus on modeling. Education is important to Morgan and she plans on finishing her degree in the future.

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Although Morgan's TomTom ad is off the tube, it did not prevent her from making a dent in the modeling industry. Nothing right now will strap down Morgan's momentum.

Now, living in New York, the Midwest-bred bombshell is maintaining a sense of humility. Her mother was among her guests in attendance at the pick-up soccer game Wednesday.

Alexandria Morgan is still just a farm girl from the cornfields of Illinois. She also happened to claim fame in a viral ad depicting her running with a strapless watch (and bra).

-- Follow Jeffrey Eisenband on Twitter @JeffEisenband.