With
imminent retirement of long-time veterans Mia Hamm, Julie Foudy, and Joy Fawcett from U.S. Women's National Soccer Team, I often find myself thinking how fortunate my family has been to witness their heroics on field and their positive influence off of it.But last game we saw in person stands out as a very different experience from first game we saw nearly nine years ago.
Last summer, I attended a soccer match between Brazil and United States Women’s National Team in New Orleans with my teenage daughter, Leah. It was a great game with plenty of action on a beautiful, sunny afternoon, and U.S. Team won on a Tiffeny Milbrett goal in 90th minute.
But for Leah and I, it was a bittersweet experience.
It was a wonderful “dad and daughter” 42-hour trip from our home in St. Petersburg, Florida to New Orleans and back again. We talked, we laughed, and we listened to each other’s music for each of 20 hours and 1393 miles in car. During our short stay, we visited Bourbon Street at night and Cafe du Monde for breakfast.
But our journey's focus was to see our soccer heroes in action again. That’s right, I said OUR heroes. Ever since that rainy night in February of 1996 when we first saw our National Team play in Tampa, these outstanding women became my heroes every bit as much as my daughters’ heroes.
I remember being awestruck as I watched them for first time – their skills, their strength, and their obvious passion for game. But it was after game, that I was won over as a dedicated fan.
Earlier that day, Nicole, my younger daughter, asked me if she should bring her Official U.S. Women’s National Team Calendar for autographs. My response - “This is our National Team with best players in world. I really doubt you will get any autographs," I said. "With rainy weather, you don’t want to ruin your calendar, but bring your autograph book, just in case.”
When game ended, I couldn't believe my eyes. Every single player came over to bleachers where about 1,900 spectators anxiously waited. Not only were they willing to sign autographs, but EACH OF THE PLAYERS HAD THEIR OWN PENS! They talked with fans, posed for pictures, and most importantly, they really seemed to enjoy doing it. We were immediately hooked.
Since then, we've been extremely fortunate to witness some of their most important games: 1996 Olympic Gold Medal match in Atlanta, historic 1999 Women’s World Cup Championship game in Los Angeles, and even Mia Hamm’s record-breaking moment for career goals in Orlando in 1999.
We’ve had several encounters with players, including clinics, autograph sessions, and we even attended a few training sessions in Orlando. Five years ago, while Leah worked as a junior reporter for St. Petersburg Times, she wrote five features for weekly X-Press Page for kids.
Along way, Leah interviewed nearly every team member and even Head Coach Tony DiCicco. Afterwards, at age of twelve, she wrote a book, Soccer Dreams, to share her adventure, promote positive values she learned from team, and to encourage readers to DREAM BIG! It was published last year and has earned very positive reviews from professional, as well as customers at Amazon.com.
So our commitment to Women’s National Team runs deep. As a family, soccer has been a unifying force ever since Leah and Nicole played on same U-8 team, which I coached. This great sport has provided us with countless memories, as participants and as spectators.
So why, you might wonder, was it bittersweet in New Orleans, to see our team again after more than four years of nothing but televised games? Most of players were same, and they all had same intensity on field we’ve come to expect.
But this time, team had already broken through. Ever since 1999 Women’s World Cup, huge crowds cheer them on wherever they play. In New Orleans that day, they played in front of 15,000 spectators, with a live national television audience and a horde of media members reporting their every move.
