Fab Five’s legacy shines a year later
NEW YORK – Mia Hamm, Julie Foudy and Joy Fawcett retired from soccer a year ago, breaking up the Fab Five. So what are they doing now?
Aside from promoting an upcoming HBO film about them, Foudy will be working for NBC Sports at the Turin Olympics, Fawcett is a soccer mom and Hamm is touting fitness to youngsters across America.
Brandi Chastain, infamous for her celebratory jersey twirl, spent last season as an MLS commentator. Kristine Lilly is the only active player among the Fab Five, and she’ll suit up with the U.S. national team in China next month.
They all remain involved in soccer in some way, and are hopeful a new women’s professional league is on the horizon. The eight-team Women’s United Soccer Association (WUSA) folded in 2003 after a three-year run.
“I think we’re still kind of fighting to sell the sport and gain a foothold in the American sports fabric with soccer,” Hamm said. “We do it every day.”
Hamm and the rest of the Fab Five were in New York recently for the premiere of the HBO film “Dare to Dream: The Story of the U.S. Women’s Soccer Team.” The documentary debuts Sunday.
The film chronicles the team’s rise from obscurity in the mid-1980s to winning the 1999 World Cup and Olympic gold last year in Athens. Along the way, Hamm became the face of women’s soccer around the world, retiring with the most international goals (158) of any male or female player.
The reluctant icon – made famous by her talent and a commercial with Michael Jordan – has a theory on why the charismatic team was embraced by fans.
“It was the American mentality. We worked our asses off,” Hamm said. “We loved what we did. You had a bunch of women that had so many different personalities. In the end, they were not going to apologize for wanting to be the best.
“They shared that with young girls out there, that you can enjoy this and express yourself. Pick any of these personalities that are out there and you’ll find a bit of yourself.”
Last week, Hamm joined New Jersey Nets star Vince Carter and softball pitcher Jennie Finch in a Get Kids in Action event in Chapel Hill, N.C. The “Go 60” project challenges 5 million youngsters to get 60 minutes of exercise a day.
Foudy was a commentator for U.S. national team matches this fall, honing her skills for a possible roving reporter role at the upcoming Winter Olympics. Next summer, she’ll launch the Julie Foudy Sports Leadership Academy for girls ages 12-18 in New Jersey and California. It will focus on girls becoming leaders on their teams and in their communities.
“Girls sometimes are a little hesitant to lead, or sometimes they don’t realize they’re leading,” Foudy said. “They need a little nudging.”
Fawcett had three daughters during her 17-year soccer career. Katey, age 11, Carri (8) and Madi (4) all play soccer, and their mom plays on a coed team with their dad. Fawcett continued to play soccer during her pregnancies.
“Each one was different,” she said. “The first one I was more cautious with my training. The second one, I pushed myself more and by the third one, I still did sprints and lifted weights until right before.”
She is involved with the Positive Coaches Alliance in Southern California.
“You see a lot of coaches and parents putting pressure on the kids, yelling from the sidelines,” Fawcett said. “Then you have kids dropping out. We want kids in the game having fun.”
Chastain’s penalty kick to clinch the 1999 World Cup title before 90,000 fans at the sold-out Rose Bowl was witnessed by the largest television audience (30 million) for a women’s sporting event.
Has there been a bigger athletic moment since her six-pack abs mesmerized the world?
“I was not nearly as anxious or nervous as when I had Mario Lemieux as my golf partner against Mia Hamm and Michael Jordan,” she said. “Or throwing out the first pitch in Yankee Stadium and Joe Torre told me ‘If you don’t throw it over the plate, the fans will boo you.’ “
Chastain, who wasn’t invited to the U.S. national team camp last spring, works with Foudy on the Bay Area Women’s Sports Initiative, a program that helps young girls get active and pursue healthy lifestyles.
Lilly is the captain of the new-look U.S. national team, which went 7-0 with no goals against this fall. The midfielder has a world-record 299 international appearances. She’d like the sport to be visible beyond the Olympics and the 2007 World Cup in China.
“It’s important for young girls who see all the male athletes playing sports and ask ‘Where is it for me?’ ” Lilly said. “We need to get that league back.”
Despite the success of the U.S. women’s team, which won two World Cup titles and two Olympic gold medals from 1991 to 2004, there wasn’t enough capital to sustain a pro league.
“We put together a league very quickly and we didn’t see a lot of the costs that needed to be incurred,” Chastain said. “Management wasn’t ready to deal with hidden costs. We had a bad business plan.”
A relaunch effort for a new pro league was announced a day before the Fab Five’s last match together on Dec. 8, 2004. Foudy is a player representative for the relaunch group.