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| A Running Commentary From Fans Of Women's Soccer Around The World |
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Still crazy after the World Cup Thoughts from Michelle Akers
Subject Idea For A Stamp Dear United States Post Office Over the years I have collected a few stamps that seem to fit in with my other hobbies... one of which is soccer. My grandfather bought the Men's World Cup soccer series for me (I have it still in its wrapper on one of my bookshelves). I think it would be a wonderful idea to have the Women's World Cup soccer series on a stamp (or series of stamps). I am fortunate enough to have played this sport for 22 years so far (my teammates and I joke around that in another 40 - 50 years we will have the first 70 and over league), and think it would be good to have the women's side of our sport considered for commemoration. After all ... they only have held the World Cup title 2 out of the 3 times it has been played (1991 and 1999) (a record that the men have yet to achieve). They are also the current gold medal Olymic champions (a record that the men have yet to achieve as well). I was fortunate enough to have been one of the 90,185 spectators at the Pasadena Rose Bowl for the Women's World Cup finals (USA v. China - USA won after double overtime - yes that is over 100 minutes of I do have a 1996 Olympic collection women's soccer stamp that was sent to me - but I think that women's soccer in America has earned a place on a stamp. I read your guidelines re: ideas for stamps and understand that you don't produce stamps of living people - but I believe the sport deserves to be recognized - even if you can't recognize the individuals. One thing you will learn if you talk with these ladies is their committment to the whole team rather than the star power of individuals. Please consider my nomination, the ladies deserve it.... Deirdre Lowell
Hi guys, God bless and lots of love,
Good evening LADIES, I totally enjoyed watching your amazing display of skill, strength, mental toughness and just plain guts. I cannot express to you how much pride I felt as I watched you perform and that pride is no less at this moment than when you won. Thank you for all your dedication to your sport , and I hope this will spur on the growth of your sport also. I hope you all get everything you hope for in your lives. Thanks a lot. You are terrific. thanks
Hi my name is Angela Musgrove. I am from Sacramento California and am 13 yrs old. I'm a big fan of Brandi Chastain. Not because she scores a lot of goals but because of her attitude. When I watch her play soccer I know she's not playing just to win, but to win as a team. Thats why I admire her so much. She plays with a one-hundred and ten percent each game that I've watched her in. I'm not one of those girls who have played soccer since they were five or live my life to be a professional soccer player. But I have played soccer for three years but I stopped playing to persue my altime favorite sport (Basketball). Sorry to disappoint you there but I do enjoy watching soccer. When I watch you guys play it makes me wanna just go out and kick but in any sport. But by your guys influences I play my hardest all the time in Basketball and thats why I'm on the Foothill Mustangs Varsity basketball team and am only going to be a freshmen in highschool. The one thing Brandi Chastain inpressed be by the most was when after scoring the winning goal of the 1999 world cup championship she stripped her shirt off and ran around the field. This made me laugh but also showed me that she just plain didnt care what people thought of her. So now when I go out on the basketball court I have my mind set on just the game and dont care what anyone in the crowd says. And I always go out to prove my best to my team since I'm the youngest. Oh yeah I saw that you sent Billy Crystal a nike sports bra thats the other thing you always make people laugh. Well I have to go now hope to hear from you soon Sincerely,
Just a note of Thanks! To the whole team, I thought you guys played great in the big tournament. I was trying to get tickets to your game in Columbus because I live in Carlisle, Ohio and it would be close, but it's already sold out. I've been coaching my son's soccer team for about 4 years now and I think the sport is great. Keep up the good work and good luck in Columbus! One of your many Fans,
Congrats to the whole team You probably won't get a chance to read this, because you all are so busy and probably have received thousands of other e-mails. But I hope you do. I felt like I needed to write this anyway. This is something I never in a million years thought I would see. I forgot, just how much I enjoy soccer, until I saw you all play. This is WONDERFUL!! You all ( the whole team) are definitely champions. Every player on the team gave it everything they had and more. You all play as a team, not individuals. No cliques. No egos. No showboats. No disrespect towards anyone (players, coaches, officails, fans, etc.). Just pure love, passion and enthusiasm for the game, the fans and the players on the team. I've never seen anything like it. That love passion and enthusiasm has rubbed off on the whole world. That's why there were over 90,000 fans (sell out crowd) at the game and over 40 billion people watching the game on television all over the world (which is the same as the NBA finals) and the reason the crowd would roar everytime the US would get the ball. If the stadium was bigger, you probably could have sold another 20,000 tickets or more. Like some of you have said, I see myself in those little girls also. I started playing soccer when I was 9 yrs. old, played all through school and about 2-3 yrs., off and on, after school. I'm 31 yrs. old from Tulsa, OK. We had an NASL team here, the Tulsa Roughnecks. I had season tickets, 1st row, 50 yard line, right behind the bench, from 1978 (the first year of the Roughnecks) until the team folded, which was about 1984. I almost never missed a game. I, also, would stand outside of the locker room hoping I'd get a chance to meet players like Gorgio Chinaglia, Franz Beckenbauer, George Best, Karl Heinz Granitza, etc. The game was incredible and overwhelming. Over 90,000 fans. Over 40 billion poeple all over the world watching the game on television. Hanson (who is from Tulsa where I grew up) singing the National Anthem. The roar of the crowd. The tremendous effort everyone on the team made. The love, passion and enthusiasm of the sport, from the players, the fans and everyone involved. It was incredible just watching it on television. I can only imagine what it was like as a fan or a player at the game. THIS IS WHAT IT'S ALL ABOUT!! You all are such GREAT role models for these young girls playing soccer or any other sport. It's wonderful the way you interact with the young girls and all the fans. It's so refreshing to see a team with so much class. These kids couldn't ask for better role models. I can't believe people are making an issue about Briana Scurry's save or Brandi Chastain's reaction when we won. If I was playing the World Cup in front of almost 100,000 people and over 40 billion all over the world, there's no telling what I would do. I do know, I would do anything I could to make that save. It was a GREAT save. Don't let anybody let you think differently. You should be commended for the incredible effort you made. You played a great game. It's the referee's job to make the call. If the referee doesn't have enough guts to make the call, she shouldn't be a referee at the World Cup. One of our players got fouled in the penalty box, but I haven't heard anything about that. It goes both ways. And I don't have a clue as to how I would react if I made the winnng goal at the World Cup. It was an emotional rush for me just watching it on television. I can't even imagine what it would be like as a player. Especially a player that shot the winning goal. Nobody knows how they would react. If anyone says they do, they're lying. I'm still pumped up about the game. Nobody's willling to admit that they would probably do the same thing as Briana and Brandi. But I guess people have to have something to pick about. Why try to spoil a great and historic moment? I LOVE that picture of Brandi. IT SAYS IT ALL!! Wheaties would be a fool not to have you on the Wheaties box. I taped the game, and I will watch it over and over. This whole event is going to have such a GREAT impact on soccer and especially women's sports. Kristine Lilly, you saved the day when you cleared that ball out of the goal area, after it had gotten past Scurry. I'm sorry Michelle Akers could not play the whole game. My heart goes out to you. You did play like there was no tomorrow. I hope you get well and your injuries heal before the Olympics. I didn't mention everyone's name. I just mentioned some of the highlights. I'm not taking anything away from anyone else. Everyone played great and were very instrumental in winning the game. You all couldn't have done it without everyone on the team. THANK EACH AND EVERY ONE OF YOU!! YOU'RE WONDERFUL!! Heather Tanner
(Editor--we have received many similar comments, at the match and afterwards) I was appalled to the point of tears by the military flyover at the Women's World Cup. Don't you see the inappropriateness of such military display of force in an international game? Even the fireworks were more like bombs than pleasant artistic display. I was humiliated and wished I could apologize to the Chinese. I hope you won't let the military interfere with future peaceful sporting events. Regards,
Way to handle the media The evil media tried and tried to get anyone on this team to talk dirt about someone else. They would have loved to write a story about women cat-fighting amongst themselves and time and time again, the team disappointed them.... This is even more impressive than the win itself! Carole Parise
Hi, Best, Angie Gilchrist
Dear Ms. Parlow, I might add that the only other players that I have ever been a fan of as an adult have been Roberto Baggio and Denis Bergkamp. I think that puts you in good company. Best Wishes,
To all my Heroes, Good luck to all of you for indoor tournament in Oct to Dec. Happy your career life and person 's life Kim
Dear U.S.A. womens soccer team, My Best Wishes,
WOMEN of TEAM USA PLEASE READ THIS How does it feel to be number 1? How does it feel to wear that gold medal when you go to sleep? How does it feel to go back to the game in your mind, to see the United States of America supporting your every step, and your every fall? To see the Rose Bowl jam packed with over 90,000 psychotic fans yelling and screaming their hearts out because they believe in you; the women of the US National Soccer Team. To look back on all those days of pain and suffering, and asking yourself if it was worth it? To wonder if you would ever go anywhere? To wonder if soccer was an appropriate sport for someone with chronic fatigue syndrome? To wonder if a country would support someone who missed the penalty kick to lose against China in the beginning of the season? Well you know what, we do and we always will. Now the time is over to those restless nights of anticipation of wondering if you were number 1. Now the time is over to worrying about how good you really would be under pressure. You came together, you sacrificed, you sweat (or glowed), you fell, you hurt, you bled, but you never stopped. You never separated, but rather chose to play, to FIGHT as a team, rather than as an individual. And THAT is what makes you number 1. Words cannot express how proud I am of you all. Not just the nationally recognized ones, not only the ones on the cover of Sports Illustrated, but the -whole- team. All the way from Mia Hamm to the water boys and the injured players. Because it wasn't JUST Brandi that one the game for us, it wasn't JUST the goalie who blocked that kick from Sun Wen that gave us the advantage, it was the US National Soccer Team who one the game. All the way from Mia Hamm to the water boys and the injured players. However, in every silver lining, their is a hole. In all rejoicing, their is a downside. You see, we won World Cup in 1999, but how will we perform at Sydney? How important is it to each and EVERY one of you? You must NOW decide exactly how important it is to you - for what a woman soweth, she shall also reap -. In English, that means that if you want Back to Back golds, you better start those stair laps Now. Spend that extra 30 minutes after practice is officially over, doing wind sprints. For a coach knoweth a player's heart by how they practice. How? Because you play how you practice. Again, my sincere congratulations. You are number 1. The End. A fan
Thank you It has almost been a week since my daughter and I and 90,183 witnessed the most amazing sporting event of our lives. Not only because of the out come was in our favor as US soccer backers, but just the class and dedication exhibited by all those involved with the event that made it memorable. The teams from Norway & Brazil played a very entertaining and exciting match that was a great lead-in to the big event. My daughter Jenny is 18 and started playing AYSO at 5. She just graduated from South Pasadena High School and concluded her final experience as a soccer player in organized completion. She like so many of the players on the U.S., China, Brazil & Norway teams was a role player that played limited minutes but was invaluable to the morale and character of her team. Her team would not have been the same without her on-it, and they came very close to winning a CIF championship. Over the years I have had the pleasure to coach and Ass't coach both boys & girls teams. The teams that I have been with have had success and failure as all of us involved with this sport have endured. We have all had to compete in 1-0 winning games and losing 1-0 games. Winning 4-0 and losing 0-4. And of course we have all had to live through shoot-outs to decide a championship. The game of soccer is alive and well in the U.S. because it is a great game for anyone to be able to play and feel a part of. Role players can find a niche and really have an enjoyable experience. The greatest memory I have from all the years involved with soccer and culminating with the US Women's teams achievement last Saturday is the teammates not the games outcome. That is a big reason why those of us drawn to soccer through our kids involvement love the women's game. The approach to the game is pure and exciting. Sure it is rugged at times. Poor MIA is such a target at times that she can hardly see a friendly colored jersey. The point is- the team means more than the outcome to this generation of kids. And we have your example to thank for that. The friendships encountered are the lasting legacy as well as the name on the trophy. In closing I just wanted to extend my congratulations to all those involved. Nothing in life comes easy and how many times has the favored team stumbled along the way to a supposed championship. In life "talk is cheap". Things must be decided on the field of play. The US Women's team achieved there goal and all of us close to the sport could see how hard they worked to achieve it. The lasting memories of the crowd, the jet fly over, the gold shirts after the game will remain forever. So will your team of individuals that together showed the world how hard work and companionship can lead to the highest peak. I know that the other teams the US team faced felt they had a great bond and worked hard, but they didn't have star players sacrifice themselves for the team like our players did. Thank you 1999 US Women's team members for your attitudes your athletic ability, your gamesmanship (Brianna Scurry) and your example of true spirit and the best example of a team this country has ever assembled. From those of us lucky enough to be in the stadium, and all the TV audience - thanks for a great experience that we will treasure as soccer fans and fans of people like yourselves. Congratulations! Fritz Hubert
Congratulations!!!!!! I would like to congratulate you on winning the World Cup. My friends and I went to the Brazil vs. Italy and USA vs.Nigeria games. I had a lot of fun watching you play. Our team was playing in a tournament at the same time. We went to a restaurent when you were playing,we were all watching you play. We had so much fun taking chairs and making ourselves comfortable to watch your game. It was fun. All the players of the shoot out and every one else played extremly well. I love watching you play on the field or on T.V.. I bet our whole team will congratulate you. We are the Cedarburg, WI U-11 girls Strikers. Kate Sternke
Personal Background: Opinion: I watched the majority of the Women's World Cup games and was proud of every woman's team and player that competed. One night I switched to a MLS game and was totally disappointed with the level of play of the men and quickly turned back to the world cup Whether my disappointment is due to the difference between amateur and professional level play, I can not say. Women have proven themselves (which they should not have had to) and have the right to expect the formation of a professional league with the same pay scale and commercial promotion as their male counterparts. I have seen a change in the mental attitude of young girls now competing in sports and this has carried over into their personal lives. They excel in academics and choose careers that have been typically male deadlocked. I have also seen a slight change in the attitudes of young men towards young women who are competitive in academics or sports. We have a long way to go in the change of attitude in our older male population. My daughters have gone on to college and have chosen exciting career fields. I hope they aren't disappointed when they are confronted by the reality of life, they may not have the same opportunities and equivalent salary as the male counterparts. Lets lobby our politicians to keep Title 9 and continue to enforce it and to vigorously push for a Women's Professional Soccer League. Let us males provide our young women (daughters) with the same opportunities as we would our young men (sons). Question: Thanks,
World Cup Victory for US Women--- Ladies This may seem a bit late-but I want you to know that the congratulations and inspiration continue. I have been involved with soccer for the past couple years as a ref for the kids and as a mother of two young players. I had never seen a sport that could do so much for kids until I was introduced to soccer. What you ladies have done is taken it to the next level. You have shown that women can be and are true athletes and you have lit a beacon for young girls to watch as they work towards their goals whatever they may be. My older daughter has become completly enthralled by Briana Scurry-because you share the same name and same posistion. She has now set the goal of playing as well as you do-I can't think of a better model for her at this point in her life. Ms Akers-this may seem strange, but you became a model for me. Why? We are the same age, and I found myself continually impressed by your sheer strenghth of character. To all the Ladies-congratulations. What you have done will not be forgotten ever by an entire generation of young women. Rita Fischer
Hi! Hi my name is Michelle. I have played soccer for four years. I have three sisters. Jackie, 14 Colette, 12 & Caroline,3 and I am 10. i want to be a professional soccer player. My favorite soccer players are Brandi Chastain, Mia Hamm, Jen Crubb, Briana Scurry, Kristine Lilly, Tiffany Milbert, Tiffeny Milbert, Tiffany Roberts, &Staci wilson. The others i like too. Mia & Brandi you both rock. Well I have to go, bye, good luck all of you. Michelle.
FELICITACION Enhorabuena por el t’tulo de campeonas del mundo. Dear Ms. Venturini Hi i'm Zach Wright. I don't know if you'll get this message or not but I just wrote to say congratulations on the world cup win. That was the most exciting soccer game I've ever watched. I a huge fan of you and the rest of the team. The Korea game was great congrats on your two goals. Anyway I just wanted to let you know that you and the rest of the team have left a great legacy for young people all over this country. Although I am not able to play soccer because I am in a wheelchair, I'm still a huge fan. My best friend plays soccer and I always get talked into being the goalie when he practices PK's. It's a fun sport and you and the rest of the team are the best in the world at it. Congrats. This team will never be forgotten. Thanks for a great tournament Zach Wright zmanrght@shentel.net Winchester, Va
Mia Hamm Hi,my name is Shannon Brown.I'm 15,I live in Ottawa,Canada and I'm a HUGe fan of you and the team.You guys were so great all through the cup,congratulations on your win!!!I watched every game I could on tv. I wish I could have been there in person but it would've cost melots of money that I don't have. I was reading some things about you on the internet and if they're true you and I have some things in common.I read that your father was in the Airforce,your birthday is March 17,your favorite color is green,your favorite food is Italian and your husband is an F-18 Hornet pilot.Well my dad's in the Airforce,my birthday is also March 17, my favorie color and food are green and Italian and I want to fly F-18's in the Canadian Airforce when I grow up.I'm not just saying that stuff either.Anyway congrats again to everyone. Shannon Brown
To the entire WWC Team, Thank you all for bringing our country to life. You've single handedly (as a team) taken a country riddled with anguish over presidential scandals and overseas conflicts, and turned it into a 3000 mile, ear to ear, smile. You've shown that love of sports isn't extinct, and you've reminded me that you will be rewarded when you put everything you have into something you love. Until last week I noticed a lack of intensity in everything I do (mostly work and sports). Since I saw you working hard and giving your all, I want to do the same. I'll have two fillings please. Thank you for being great athletes and for being beautiful...inside and out. Marc De Leon Engineering Student, Manhattan, KS (KSU)
Dear Women, I and a lot of other people have thought that you gals played with all your heart to win the cup. I love it when you guys get a goal and when Brandi Chastain scored to win the cup. I really think you gals have got a lot of talent. I am only 13 years old and you gals are very pretty too. I also play soccer for a premier soccer team in Manchester, Conneticut. Our team is a really good team. Our season started with a win in Glastonbury,Conneticut and we only lost about 5 or 6 games out of like 69 games which is pretty good. But I think that you gals could beat the mens team!!!!!! Well it was nice talking to you but I have to go. I think you gals did super and I congratulate you all!! Please stay in touch with me if you can and not to busy going to Tony's practices!! JOKE! Sorry Tony and say hi to your son Franky. I know him from Oakwood and Ed Stelz. Good luck next season, and I will be watching you gals. BYE!!!!! |
