Legends Get Their Last Kicks
The rain ended, the skies cleared and the stars came out -- three of them for the last time.
At 9:50 on Wednesday night, Mia Hamm stepped off the soccer field and into the history books. The United States-Mexico match had nine minutes to go when Heather O’Reilly, one of the stars of tomorrow, took over from Hamm.
“She’s the future,” a tearful Hamm said after it was all over.
Wearing the name Garciaparra on her back in honor of her Chicago Cub shortstop husband, Nomar, it took Hamm almost one minute to reach the sideline as she stopped to hug each of her fellow players.
She waved to the 15,549 at the Home Depot Center, then shook hands with Mexico Coach Leonardo Cuellar and his assistants and finally walked over to the U.S. bench to be hugged by Coach April Heinrichs, her assistant coaches and the rest of the American players.
An unforgettable career had finally come to an end.
Moments later, Julie Foudy joined Hamm in another tearful but smiling exit. Like Hamm and injured defender Joy Fawcett, she too is retiring after the three had enjoyed memorable, 17-year careers with the U.S. women’s national team that saw them win everything there is to win, including two world championships and two Olympic gold medals.
The game itself, which the U.S. won, 5-0, was almost secondary to the farewell performance.
“I just want to thank you for making my last game and Julie’s and Joy’s so memorable,” Hamm told the crowd.
The game itself was almost laughably one-sided, with Mexico, minus several of its own stars, wilting faster than the flower bouquets Fawcett, Foudy and Hamm were presented before kickoff.
The Mexicans were behind, 3-0, within the first half hour and trailed by five goals little more than an hour into the match. Aly Wagner and Abby Wambach each scored twice and Shannon Boxx once.
But the goal everyone had been waiting for -- the final one of Hamm’s unique career -- never came.
She had one shot hit the crossbar, two shots fly wide left and two that were saved by Mexico goalkeeper Pamela Tajonar. But the goal eluded her, and so her world-record 158 international goals will be the standard by which all future strikers are measured.
Hamm, twice a winner of FIFA’s world player of the year award and in the running to win for a third time Dec. 20, has been the face of women’s soccer for so long that it is difficult to imagine the sport without her.
Her haul of 158 goals -- more than any other man or woman in soccer history -- set her apart, but it was more than that.
It was, said Foudy, “her selflessness, her demeanor and the way she handled herself and carried herself and carried the sport on her shoulders. And her consistency. It wasn’t just a game here or a game there. We could always count on her.
“I’m just happy I got to play alongside her for 17 years because I consider that a great honor.”
Fawcett, perhaps the finest defender in the 20-year history of women’s international soccer, added something else.
“It was her dedication and hard work,” she said. “Every time she went on the field she worked hard. It wasn’t just the scoring side of the game. You would see her track back on defense and ... constantly help this team. Being a defender, I appreciated that.
“She never sat on her laurels of being Mia Hamm. She always gave it her all.”
The almost predatory intensity, so evident in her eyes when playing, might have intimidated some, but it never stopped Hamm from being the adored idol of millions of young girls -- and probably quite a few young boys.
Why was it Hamm and not another player on the talent-laden U.S. team who rose to become the icon?
“Because she’s one of the greatest players who have ever played,” Foudy said. “It’s pretty simple.”
And now it is all over. Hamm will turn her attention to her family and raising a family of her own.
“It’s been a blast,” Hamm said Tuesday in praising the players she has shared the field with over the years.
“We talk about teammates and we throw that word around, but these are more than just players who wear the same jersey as me. These are some of my best friends.
“They see me at my best time and they see me at my worst, and they continue to answer my phone calls and respond to my e-mails. I feel very blessed with them in my life.”
For the trio, Wednesday marked the end of the gold-paved road. They have entered the lore and legend of the game, and the last word, as always, belonged to Foudy.
“We’ve done what we sought to do,” she said.
