Now, U.S. Women Try to Kick Sport Forward
America might not be a full-fledged soccer country yet--that laggard U.S. men’s national team remains an issue to be tackled--but for a few heady hours this weekend, it had a taste of how it feels.
More than five hours after Brandi Chastain’s penalty kick brought home the Women’s World Cup on Saturday, downtown Pasadena was still wired with adrenaline, its streets packed with red-white-and blue-clad revelers waving American flags, chanting “U-S-A!” and stopping traffic to reach into car windows and exchange handshakes.
On a smaller scale, it was reminiscent of the carnival that followed Brazil’s triumph over Italy in the 1994 World Cup final at the Rose Bowl, turning the same town into a rocking Rio de Pasadena for one delirious night.
Sunday, there were more sounds and sights not commonly found in this mecca of underachieving baseball teams:
--Surprisingly intelligent discussion on a local radio sports talk show about soccer; specifically, what to do to “improve the game of soccer” for the benefit of American audiences, a talking point spurred by Saturday’s 120-minute scoreless draw between China and the United States.
(Best suggestion I heard: Leave the game alone and develop better male players in this country.)
--Very good overnight numbers for ABC’s national telecast of the World Cup final--a 13.3 rating, making China-USA the most-watched soccer game ever on network television--and stunning local numbers: a 20.8 rating with a 53 share in the Los Angeles market, comparable to an NFL playoff game.
--A victory rally for the U.S. women held on the steps of the Los Angeles Convention Center, complete with young fans holding up placards that read, “I Will Have Two Fillings”--borrowing the line from the popular TV commercial--and another sign held aloft by two enthusiastic male fans:
“Boys Dig The Chicks That Kick The Long Balls.”
It was an understated but fun affair, with midfielder Julie (Loudy) Foudy serving, naturally, as emcee, introducing each team member:
“The Blur . . . the one they call ‘The Kawasaki 5000’ . . . Tiffeny Milbrett!”
“The woman with the uncanny knack for taking her clothes off . . . Brandi Chastain! She says it was temporary insanity. Do you believe her?”
“The woman with the worst redheaded dye job I have ever seen in my life . . . Kate Sobrero!”
“Our stud, our superstar, who does everything for the team but claims it’s always the team . . . She’s the best . . . Mia Hamm!”
When Foudy was finished and handed the microphone to goalkeeper Briana Scurry, whose sprawling save of Liu Ying’s attempt in the penalty-kick shootout provided the United States’ margin of victory, a roar of applause greeted her, followed by one young voice proclaiming, “You rock, Scurry!”
Up next for Team USA: Appearances today on “Good Morning America” and “The Today Show,” interviews with CNN and Fox and, of course, an eventual stopover on David Letterman’s show, where Letterman might just finally get it over with and add a seat behind the desk for his new co-host, Chastain.
(Quipped U.S. Coach Tony DiCicco after Chastain converted her game-winning penalty: “David Letterman told me to have her take it.”)
Before leaving on a team flight to New York, Scurry talked about what this three-week joyride meant for the sport of soccer in America.
“Us getting to the final was important, but us winning blew the doors off it,” Scurry said. “We are America’s darlings at the moment, America’s sweethearts, so to speak. I think it will explode the sport on the grass-roots level in this country. I think it’s going to blossom.
“Now you have thousands of little girls and boys going to bed with us in their thoughts, wanting to be little Mia Hamms. That can’t do anything but help the sport. In the years to come, we’ll be able to see the effect we really had.”
Milbrett isn’t sure if or when America will ever cross the bridge to official Soccer Nation status, but said, “I think this has brought us closer. I can’t give you specific numbers as to how much we’ve gained, but we’ve definitely brought a greater awareness to the sport.”
Alan Rothenberg, immediate past president of U.S. Soccer, was ebullient in his assessment of the legacy left by the U.S. women’s team.
“It’s awesome,” he said. “For the people already involved in the sport, their love and interest for the game was reaffirmed. But this team caught the imagination of the country as a whole and raised the level of interest in the sport and its culture. Soccer in this country has clearly become a mainstream sport.”
Of course, a goal or two in the final would have helped the process along. Saturday’s game might have been a clinic for textbook women’s defensive soccer. The Americans, especially, played an exceptional tactical game of defense, rendering high-scoring forward Sun Wen a nonfactor by having Michelle Akers shadow her in the midfield and shutting down the outside alleys the Chinese attackers exploited so well during the early stages of the tournament. But the final score was 0-0, and that still spells Dull Sport to the American unconverted.
“It is a bit frustrating that we won without any goals,” DiCicco admitted. “Of course, we want it all. It would’ve been better if we’d won in regulation.
“There are going to be naysayers, but you saw the NBA finals and you saw final scores in the 60s. There are many fans who can see beauty in that kind of game.
“We had a penalty kick shootout. Ten players went up there, under incredible pressure, and only one didn’t make it. If you can’t find beauty in that effort by China and the USA, I’m not sure you’re a sports fan.”
