by Ethan Johnson
February 12, 2008

This was a made-for-TV special about the USWNT, and may not be widely available for viewing. If it is airing locally, by all means, watch it. If you have children, watch it with them. The special covers the history of the USWNT from the first Womens World Cup in 1991, to the 2004 Olympics. The Hope Solo/2007 WWC controversy is not covered.

In short, this is an incredibly inspirational program. The USWNT overcame incredible hardships and setbacks (relatively speaking, in the sporting world) to rise to becoming the greatest team nobody has ever heard of. As I have reasoned in a much earlier article, narrative is an essential ingredient for compelling sporting events, and this program provides it in spades.

Here is what I learned from this show. If you don't think you'll ever get to see the program, read through the highlights:

Names:

The program focuses on "the five" who were with the team the longest. Julie Foudy, Mia Hamm, Kristine Lilly, Joy Fawcett, and Brandi Chastain.

Other featured players include Briana Scurry, Carla Overbeck, Michelle Akers.

JP Dellacamera (soccer announcer) is apparently older than dirt. His voice hasn't changed a note, however.

Mia Hamm was discovered in Texas. I had assumed that she rose to prominence with the University of North Carolina. Not that she didn't, but I mean, she was discovered in Texas first.

Mia Hamm was more or less arbitrarily selected by Madison Avenue to be the face of women's soccer, if not women's athletics, period. She wasn't necessarily the Michael Jordan of soccer (as the ads suggested), but had the "girl next door" look that they wanted. Of course, everyone on the team looked like the girl next door. Her teammates ribbed her about the TV commercials, but apparently were very diplomatic and/or philosophical about it. They reasoned that if having Mia Hamm do shampoo commercials was what it was going to take to get the national team noticed, they'd live with it. (Kinda the successful version of the whole David Beckham debacle with MLS.)

Joy Fawcett had three kids during her USWNT career. Contrary to the prevailing conventional wisdom, she returned to full-time soccer three weeks after her first child was born - shattering the assumption that women plain could not compete in sports after bearing children.

Michelle Akers suffered from Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, even having to take IV drips at halftime.

Narrative:

Jeez, where to start. Well, in the beginning, the USWNT was something of an afterthought relative to men's soccer. Everything was handed down from the men's program, and essentially the team had to spare every expense, down to transportation. In 1991, the players were paid less than minimum wage, put charitably.

The first Women's World Cup in 1991 was the FIFA M&Ms cup. The approach was for FIFA to take the credit if the event was successful, and if not, it wasn't a "real" FIFA tournament anyway. Subsequent WWCs have been fully sanctioned FIFA events with no shared trophy credit.

The 1999 WWC had extra pressure, since it was held in the US, and the organizers opted to book larger venues than the event was expected to fill. These venues included Giants Stadium, Soldier Field, and the Rose Bowl. The team undertook a massive grassroots ticket sales campaign where they traveled around the country to various youth leagues with a folding table and cardboard box selling WWC tickets. The final match in the Rose Bowl was the highest attended women's sporting match in history, with an official attendance of 90,185. As might be expected, the USA drew the most fan interest as the event moved across the country. Although it was NOT expected at the time.

The 1999 WWC featured the iconic shirt-removing celebration by Brandi Chastain. I dimly remember the controversy, but in retrospect it's pretty tame as controversies go. After scoring the winning penalty kick, Chastain dropped to her knees, removed her shirt, and clenched her fists in celebration. I seem to recall that the objections weren't so much that she removed her shirt, but were more rooted in the belief that women shouldn't be athletes anyway. What the vast majority of people didn't know (myself included) was that Chastain was more or less exiled from the USWNT, and went to play in Japan for a year, over the objection of the US coaches. Since there was no women's pro league in the USA at the time, she believed that playing in a full-time pro league would improve her game. She was told, in short, that her days with the USWNT were over. However, during the 1996 Olympic Games, there was a players' strike. Chastain came on as a "scab" during the strike. After the strike ended, her teammates welcomed her back to the team. Scoring the winning PK in 1999 was something of an exclamation point after all that had come before.

The USWNTs most hated rival is Norway. This is largely because after Norway advanced to the final round of the 1995 WWC, they formed a human train and marched around the field to rub in the victory. The closest approximation I can think of for other sports is when a college team plants its flag in the other team's logo, or when Terrell Owens celebrated a touchdown against Dallas by standing in the center of the star. The USWNT used a photo of the incident as "locker room fodder" to goad them to victory in 1999.

They say that America loves a winner. In 1991, the USWNT returned home victorious from China and were welcomed by three people at La Guardia airport.

For whatever reason, if the USWNT doesn't win the World Cup, they take 3rd place.

The USWNT hasn't won a World Cup since 1999. If they were keeping the pace since 1991, they would have won in 2007 (they didn't), and then taken 3rd place in 2011 (remains to be seen).

The veteran players were shocked and amazed to see male fans not only flock to the 1999 WWC, but remove their shirts to reveal "I love Mia Hamm" or "Julie Foudy #11" painted on their chests or backs.

No Tomorrow:

The 1991 USWNT seems to reflect the state of the 2007 Brazilian national team. Unless something changed recently, Brazil does not have a full-time women's team (called "residency"). In 1991, the US planned to disband the team only to reassemble it in 1995, or whenever the next major event would have been. The decision to go full-time was huge, and paved the way for all that came after.

The conventional wisdom stated that the 1999 WWC was going to be a disaster. And by extension, if the event bombed, it was a referendum on women's sports in general. The grassroots efforts of the USWNT and others to sell tickets essentially saved women's soccer in the US.

"No tomorrow" looms large over any sort of knockout tournament. The USWNT seems to have an extra layer of pressure at all times in the vein of "you're only as good as your last match." Apparently, public perception and support is so tenuous that while winning is appreciated, it is also quickly forgotten. I suppose being regarded as the perpetual underdog can be motivating, but I'd imagine plays hell with trying to build a solid fan base year after year. Not that they lack any sort of fan base. But arguably, the USWNT should be a bigger draw without as much arm-twisting.

Conclusion:

I highly recommend this program. Check your local listings, or maybe someone will wisely release this on DVD. I'm looking forward to more USWNT matches over the coming years, and am excited about the new women's pro league that is getting established. Now is a great time for women's soccer. Take a moment to remember the heroes. <EM>