SI's Grant Wahl's Top 5 Performers

[FearM9]

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/features/2002/year/ups_and_downs/soccer/

5. Mia Hamm recovers 1998 form, scores a string of highlight-reel goals for WUSA finalist Washington Freedom

Damn that Mia Hamm!
:mad:

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Storyline to Follow in 2003

Women's World Cup
The "Girls of Summer" will seek to become the "Girls of Autumn" when they defend their 1999 world title next October in China. Can coach April Heinrichs prove she deserved the job after helming the U.S. to a disappointing silver medal in Sydney? Can the Old Guard -- Mia Hamm, Julie Foudy, Brandi Chastain, Joy Fawcett, Kristine Lilly -- hold on to add another chapter to their legendary careers? Will any youngsters (Danielle Slaton? Aly Wagner?) make The Leap? Will keeper Briana Scurry make The Comeback? And for that matter, will anyone in the U.S. pay attention if the games are being played in the middle of the night on the other side of the world?

[FearM9]

And on the same site:

Kelli Anderson on Women's Sports (http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/features/2002/year/ups_and_downs/womens_sports/)

Storyline to Follow in 2003

Soccer's success
Will the U.S. women's soccer team capture the attention and imagination of its home nation when it defends its World Cup title thousands of miles and umpteen time zones away? Will the WTA get a sponsor, and will anyone not named Williams win a Grand Slam tennis title next year?

[soccersarah]

Originally posted by FearM9
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/features/2002/year/ups_and_downs/soccer/



Damn that Mia Hamm!
:mad:

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I am so tired of the anti Mia Hamm posts. I am not a "Mia Hamm fan", but give credit where it is due. she did score alot of goals for the time she did play and most of them were pretty awesome.

Granted she probably did not deserve the FIFA player of the year award over some others, but without her popularity, we would not even be debating this. There would not be any WUSA that is for sure. I am sure she would have rather someone else have received the award and she so much as said so last year. We would all like the world to be a little more aware of womens sports and recognize more than Mia Hamm, but that is just the state of it right now. At least they are recoginizing it at all.

[Awe-Inspiring]

Fear, your quote about

"Storyline to Follow in 2003

Soccer's success
Will the U.S. women's soccer team capture the attention and imagination of its home nation when it defends its World Cup title thousands of miles and umpteen time zones away?"

is the key question for women's soccer. At present I don't see a huge reason to answer the question other than "not likely."

And remember, I say this as a fan, someone who was willing to write and publish a book proclaiming the '99 WWC final the greatest game in any of the five major team sports since WWII.

Add to the logistical hurdles the fact that the games are going to be played in the middle of the night, and the concern grows.

Remember, the WWC '99 final outdrew the men's 7 a.m. game against Germany in the '02 Cup. By a wide margin. That does not offer a high hope for great ratings for women's games in China.

Add to that FIFA's brilliance in scheduling the WWC to conflict with and compete with the baseball playoffs for viewers, and the prognosis for a bang-up ratings showing and widespread following is far dimmer than it was in '99.

There are ways to address this and to counter this. I hope to suggest some of them over the next few weeks. But it will be a struggle.

[M9fanatic]

Originally posted by soccersarah
I am so tired of the anti Mia Hamm posts. I am not a "Mia Hamm fan", but give credit where it is due. she did score alot of goals for the time she did play and most of them were pretty awesome.

Granted she probably did not deserve the FIFA player of the year award over some others, but without her popularity, we would not even be debating this. There would not be any WUSA that is for sure. I am sure she would have rather someone else have received the award and she so much as said so last year. We would all like the world to be a little more aware of womens sports and recognize more than Mia Hamm, but that is just the state of it right now. At least they are recoginizing it at all.

:D Fear was being sarcastic.