I like Morgan, but I'm not ready to jump on her bandwagon yet. She still has a long way to go before she's a world class striker. I find her maddening at times, she has talent, but it seems that she lacks vision and a feel for the game. She created some brilliant moments in the tournament, but I don't see the magic eye yet. She kind of reminds me of Altidore.
You may be right, but RIGHT NOW, she got better in each game that she played in the tournament. Drew Rosenhaus or Scott Boras would put it "she got better as the pressure increased." For an agent, it is about seizing the moment for a client. She is sitting on house money for about a year. And Kool-Aide, I agree, no way she does Maxim, Mens Health, etc (I was kidding in my original post).
Did you watch the games? If you had, you'd realize it wasn't hindsight. Alex was more dangerous and actually scored in her short appearances prior to the final than Arod looked in all of her starts. And her production in the second half and OT of the final only vindicated what I and a lot of others here commented on earlier. She's good and should have played ahead of Arod, especially after the first two games. Just my humble opinion, of course.
Alex is young and talented and proved in the world cup that she can score under pressure in both the France and Japan game. If I'm her agent I'm out marketing here right now while the demand for women's soccer is still at a high. She's a pretty girl and she has a likeability about her and she's feminine but not afraid to knock it around if need be. She has the perfect opportunity to be the next face of women's soccer if they capitalize on it now. I think sports marketing is all about jumping on a bandwagon (hello Anna Kournikova). In women's sports you unfortunately don't need to be all that great as it has been shown previously. But with Morgan we have someone who is stepping up to the pressure and has the looks to sell it.
I don't think the +1s I saw after your comment were kidding so I wanted to point out what I thought was obvious w/ respect to Maxim/Men's Health/etc. And I totally agree w/ your point about her agent seizing the moment NOW. She probably did need about 1-2 more goals in the WWC to really set up marketing potential but it's still there. WPS league officials and/or USWNT player agents need to get on the horn to Proactiv (the acne treatment company) about a month and a half ago. Their ads are all over FSC for men's & women's games they broadcast. And Proactiv has used celebrity endorsers before (Jessica Simpson & Katy Perry).
BTW, I think I've heard it tweeted somewhere that Morgan's signed a deal with Coke for being one of the promising athletes to watch at the Olympics.
Alex has huge star power and has Mia Hamm Appeal. As far as comparing her to Mia as players "not that you were" is a stretch.. Alex is more like a young Abby, a long strider, great off the pass and can head the ball very well. Mia was shorter more compact player, great off the dribble, super explosive,two totally different kind of players each with their own unique stye. I think Pia likes A-Rod because with her and Abby on the field it brings contrasting styles which is hard to defend. Remember A-Rod scored 3 goals in the last three games against Japan.
You'll have to remind me of the last time Altidore scored something like that strike against Japan or that chip against France. Oh, and for a striker who supposedly lacks vision, she did a pretty good job of placing a cross right on Wambach's head. She's a special one, and already the USWNT's most dangerous offensive force.
I think she should be the first target when US took the lead yesterday, when Japan was pushing up, use her pace to break through their line.
She seems the ideal player to play against possession oriented teams like France and Japan. Use her speed for counterattacks. But she does seem to be a little lost if the US has the majority of play (IE the Sweden game). A good talent though, hopefully she can develop more to her game, more sophistication to her game.
Not only does she possess great speed and skill with both feet she also has a cannon shot. Check out the way she contacts the ball cutting behind the defense in this pre WWC scrimmage at the very beginning of this video. How many other women on the WNT can strike like this whilst still on the move? http://www.youtube.com/user/sverigesradio#p/u/31/rnejrtVsA64 We shouldn't get ahead of ourselves with comparisons to previous greats. But she has been known as a skilled and promising prospect throughout her development. Her goal scoring rate currently stands at 9 goals in 24 caps. But its even better than that when considering the number of actual minutes played.
I was on the phone with a woman with whom I work this morning whose voice sounds like Morgan's. I told her that, and she recognized Morgan's name. Even 12 years ago right after the WWC, many people had trouble even recognizing Chastain's name. What a difference a decade makes!
She has great technical ability with her feet and is able to control any kind of entry ball. Attributes to look for in a true goal scorer. Case in point: [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nc0uqszOtDU"]March 7, 2011: WNT vs. FIN - Alex Morgan's First Goal‏ - YouTube[/ame]
Wambach, Solo, and Morgan Collectible: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=220818142459
ammo is pretty good, i strongly dislike bambi eyed killer... the teams calls her little horsey or something not that sexy.. i think we need to do better
Nicknames like this come naturally and generally from those close to them, not fans and hopefully not from forums or bloggers. Not sure where "Baby Horse" came from, but I agree, it's not fitting to her from my perspective. As I stated earlier though, deer have brown eyes. The OP was probably drawing on the term "doe-eyed" but even that seems not quite her as well. Maybe a nationwide nickname contest?
I think any nickname involving Alex should involve the word "Pink" since her pre-wrap is her trademark. She was called "The Pink Princess" (The nickname I have for her) on Wednesday by that guy introducing the WWC players. It's pretty simple and unoriginal but princesses are all the rage with the girls at the moment. Plus it fits since she is cute and pretty. "The Pink Panther" would be a great one, if it wasn't for the animated character.