Brandi Article

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Have you noticed that no one is complaining about Lil still being on the team?
Brandi had lost a step...actually a step and a half to be truthful. and while some players IE Joy recognized when that was the case for them and were able to change how they approached the game using their positioning to compensate for their lack of speed. Brandi never seemed to make that realization. she still did dangerous stuff with the ball when it would have been more prudent to find the quickest outlet pass to an open player.
I watched Brandi on numerous occasions try to beat a player with a trick move instead of unloading the ball to a player who had room and time to do something with it. I watched her get striped as a result and if not for another defender sliding over to get between the attacker and goal that attacker would have been in on goal and one on one with our keeper.
Brandi in 99' could do things like that and get away with it because she had the speed to recover. That is no longer the case.
I remember on occasions after the 2004 oly's Brandi being asked if she would continue and her saying yes if they'll have me and not one player standing behind her or beside her noded their head or made a single comment. Truth was those were awkward moments because it was clear in the silence that they really felt she was no longer able to compete at that level anymore. there was a difference resinence in the response when Bri was asked the same question said yes and the team responded with smiles and Abby even said thank god!.
I loke Brandi, have absalutely nothing against her. She was a fabulous player and in a pro league I see no reason why she couldn't continue to play, but as far as the international level is concerned I just do not see where she has enough left in her game to continue.

 

During the olympics, Ryan was a scout. Yet was he not on the bench when the NT played during his tenure under April? Was he not at the camps? Do you think he never followed the team before Ape made him a coach?
As for Brandi not doing a ton of complaining, one thing she said really stands out for me( as a brandi fan you should enjoy this article-I feel its unprofessionally emotionally biased) :

"I continue to love soccer today, and will do the same long after he and other coaches have come and gone. This situation doesn't change that one bit. That is why I am undaunted by this recent development. I have been through this once before, when Anson Dorrance cut me from the national team following the first World Championship in '91, and I sat out the '95 World Cup. Now, as then, I will continue to pull the bag of balls out of my car, put on my cleats and use everyday to improve my technique, fitness and overall game, for the day when I will be back on the field. I have seen this action plan work, and I am not afraid to see this as a challenge of spirit, character and hard work. In the meantime, I will do what I did then, which is play for the Sacramento Storm of the WPSL, and attempt to help that team win a championship."

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2005/writers/michael_silver/06/25/open.mike/index.html

To me, this quote pretty much says "FU Ryan." For someone who thinks she still has a chance to play should Ryan or his successor realize how valuable she really is, it's just not too smart and comes off not only as defiant, but disturbingly out of touch with reality. It really saddens me because I love Chastain. I hate the fact that her legacy, her last opportunity to influence the team, is as a recalcitrant wannabe who says their coach is an ass. How helpful is this to our team? If Chastain cared as more about our program than her ego, she'd have gone gracefully.

 

I agree. She has become selfish. She has come to love the spot-lite too much. It is now all about Brandi to her. It seems that the all important 200 caps so that she can be immortalized is more important to her than the future of the WNT. I think the media created a monster since her shirt rip-off at 1999 WC.
Don't blame Ryan for not reaching 200, Brandi, you've been cut before. Maybe if Dorrance would have kept you on the squad in the 90s you would have reached this milestone already. You had your time, now let someone else have theirs.

 

To me, it's the attitude that anyone who's ever been cut SHOULD have had, although most people just skulk away. Face it, most of the people bashing her now would have wanted her to go away quietly after '91, too (I know I thought she was a whining little muppet at that time). Why does she have to agree with Ryan's assessment (or the feds payback depending on who you believe).

Why shouldn't she way she's going to work hard and make it impossible not to pick her? If she can back it up, then he'll have to pick her. If she's really over the hill, won't it show?? I guess I missed the FU. I know I'd be thrilled to have someone come back from being cut and prove they belonged on the team (of course when you're involved with cuts you realize how subjective the whole process is and how much a coach can be wrong about someone).

 

That's a fair outlook at first glance, but it's premised on her ability to improve, which means that at 39, she will be faster and better and healthier than she is now. It also means that there will be no one fit to play a better defense than brandi. How likely is that? Why should we feed that fantasy? She needs to understand that no matter how hard she works, its not happening, short of a plane crash that whipes out the entire nt defense. Is she implying that she can work harder than she already has on the NT? Some kind of super ultra mega soccer workout scheme that eclipses what she did as an NT player? Of course no one wants to be cut but the best legacies go to those who walk away before that has to happen. Her choice not to do so was a risk she took. Now that the risk did not pay off, she's bitter about it. To put her on the team would be a risk for Ryan, and would come at the expense of development, something this team has needed for a long time.
There is no fed payback here. The fed payback was outing Chastain in the first place after she complained. If there was a fed payback for criticizing Heinrichs, Millbrett never would have seen a camp under Ryan.

 

I don't see anything wrong with Ryan making the decision he did - I think he was absolutely right. I also see no problem in his timing or the way he delivered the news to Brandi. On the other hand, there is nothing wrong or selfish with a veteran player like Chastain who is ready to work her butt off to get back on the team.

While Ryan and Chastain may disagree (and do so in public), it doesn't mean either of them is in the wrong. There are no villains here - just two people trying to their jobs to the best of their abilities.

 

I think Ryan made the right decision, and I think he had enough valid info to base it on.

But I don't see anything wrong with Brandi saying what she did in that column quoted above. Actually, I found the author of the column far more obnoxious. He seemed to think she had a God-given right to be on the team, which is not something Brandi herself said, at least not for the record. So she wants to keep trying to make the team--I don't see a problem with that in itself. I admire her spirit, in fact. I hope she will accept it gracefully if (more likely *when*, though who knows) that spirit proves to be not quite enough to get her back on the WNT.

Personally, I don't enjoy seeing athletes keep playing significantly past their primes. I hated seeing Jordan with the Wizards, even though he was still better than a lot of players, and the memory of Willie Mays at the tail end of his career, a shadow of his former self (I'm old enough to remember that), still rankles. (No, I'm not saying Brandi is that far gone.) But I have to admit, that reluctance to leave the game is, for many athletes, part and parcel of what made them such great competitors to begin with--it's the flip side of what got them to the elite levels of their sport in the first place. You often don't get the competitive greatness at the front end of the career without the reluctance to leave at the back end. Quite a few great athletes stay too long at the fair IMO. You can't blame them for wanting to continue, but you also can't blame coaches for saying, sorry, no more.

And I don't think saying this constitutes "bashing."

 

It already has, hasn't it? Hasn't Ryan cut her and given her no reason for hope?

Good point, but you don't have to stop playing the game, you just go down a level. This happens with age. (I should know). Ryan was very respectful of Chastain, saying she was still a good player but it was his responsibility to prepare for the future. That's what Chastain won't acknowlege, she is not part of the future. I guess I will give her a bye on pride, but her quote basically sounds to me like "what do you know whipper snapper? I have been around longer than you, and I will outlast you."
You also have to remember that her making comparisons to her cut under Anson is dumb. She was cut by Anson for reasons that could be fixed-poor attitude & training habits-unlike age which cannot. I just wish I could remember Chastain in a better light, cause her parting words just don't flatter her legacy in my opinion. I understand those who see it otherwise, but I doubt any of you would put money on her ever playing on the NT again-and if that is the reality, then she would have been better served leaving with grace.

 

I wish you wouldn't feel that way-- its simply unfair to select people for "fighting spirit", and then critique them for retaining it when their talents erode. Her legacy should be what she did on the field, not some Entertainment Tonite image all polished up for the photo ops and fitted to the mythologies of some sporting Miss Manners or Madison Avenue. As Johnson said about the folks who criticized the strategy of the chess-playing dog, "they forget that the remarkable thing is not that he does it badly, but that he does it at all." She didn't come to the public eye for her skill at making people comfortable, and its futile and silly for us to expect such of her now. She is a legitimate role model for a whole variety of qualities; that should be enough. Perfection is for saints-- settle for the virtues you can find in the rest of us...

She is to me the most interesting of the five because she is the most apparently flawed--it was never grace I admired her for, but grit. What I will remember most-- what symbolizes her to me-- is the "make up" goal against Germany... when it absolutely had to be there, why there it was.

 

Yeah that the point I made in defence of Brandi concerning the Germany game. also the hand ball against Brazil to Tarpley. had not for them we wouldn't have a gold metal at the Olympics last year. is that a player who is over the hill. it politics that what it is. it took 1 lucky goals from each team to rob Brandi from the glory of assissting the winning goal. again I say it Politics why Brandi was cut by Ryan. didn't Brandi conpensate for lack of speed with match savvy.

 

I didn't make any comparisons to the cut under Anson. Didn't even mention it.

Sure, she can play a level down. That's what she's doing. I wouldn't bet a dime on her ever being back on the WNT, but it doesn't bother me that she wants to and is trying to make it back. That's often what happens with elite athletes: they don't stop wanting to compete on the highest available stage. The fact that I don't think she belongs on the team any longer doesn't mean I don't admire her for trying. What's the old saying? May your reach exceed your grasp? To me, this is Brandi's reach exceeding her grasp. At some point, she'll have to come back down to earth IMHO, but I wouldn't necessarily demand that she do that Right Now.

I admit, however, that I would have admired her even more if she had walked away under her own steam, as Mia did.

 

No, actually she didn't...not entirely...

 

Brandi’s grit and accomplishments on the field are not the issue here. Her handling of her cut is. Fighting spirit? -or a refusal to accept reality and leave with grace is what we are debating. She’s not expected to make anyone comfortable. She can and has said whatever she wants-but there will be an impression made by how she chooses to accept her fate. The impression that makes on you versus me doesn’t make either one of us right. The fact that this thread is so long shows that the subject is debatable. Phasing this in terms of expecting perfection or abiding by Miss Manners is a reach. Would I expect disappointment? Of course. Would I expect someone who has just been told they are not in the plans of the future team to basically say the coach is wrong, will be proven so, and will take her back? No. Such a response shows a lack of judgment and an ego not accepting of reality. Sorry, but that’s the facts. It also shows incredibly poor judgment, for if there were any chance he’d even consider such a move, he’s going to remember her words. Greg Ryan is not April Heinrichs in terms of an open mind and being reasonable (thank god), but he made a tough decision, and respected her enough to tell her in person. You think that was easy? You think he appreciates her words? You think that her statements will motivate him to abandon his movement toward youth and take another look at her? If you answer no to these questions, then you have to admit that her bitching about his decision only lessens any chance she might have had for another look. For that reason alone, it was not wise, but more importantly it was not necessary. It won’t change things, and it just makes her look foolish, not gritty. Gritty would be having the guts to accept your fate and leave on a high note. Now these are just my opinions. Many have agreed with me, so my views cannot be as “silly” as you contend.

rlindsey0, My comments about the Anson cut were not directed to you. Just an afterthought, actually. If you wouldn’t bet a dime on Chastain making it back, then why does her trying to do so make her admirable instead of out of touch with reality? Why would you admire someone for thinking they could walk through a door that has been firmly shut and locked?

 

Well, if you've ever tried for something that a lot of people said you couldn't achieve, then you know the answer to that. Sometimes the effort is more important than the achievement. And as long as Brandi's not hurting anyone by making the effort, which I can't see that she is, why should anybody have a huge problem with it?

And you know, every once in a blue moon, unlikely achievements actually do happen, though as I said, I'm certainly not betting on it in this case. If Brandi ever does return to the WNT and plays effectively, I'll be willing to eat my words (I'm not real worried that I'll have to do that), and I hope you will be too.

The further point is that you can respect, even admire, someone even while believing they're mistaken.

 

Couldn't agree more. Thanks for the reminder!

 

All this talk only proves my point that Brandi Chastain has become a cult of personality and nothing more. I don't get how people don't understand that she just doesn't fit into Ryan's plan for the future no matter what people want to see. It happens to players all over the world for many different reasons. Maybe a players style doesn't fit into the game plan that a new coach wants to implement. Or maybe there is a fear of distraction that that player may cause, which I believe Brandi is capable of doing. I still say Brandi was just a good player on a team than had lots of them before she tore off her shirt and the media made her into something bigger than she really is. Since then she has gathered a cult following that won't let it go.

 

Actually, it doesn't "prove" anything, other than it is your opinion, which you have every right to.

 

Somewhat of a parallel situation...Cammi Granato doesn't make the Oly squad...

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/olympics/winter/2005-08-25-granato-cut_x.htm

 

How about trying for something that you should know you can’t possibly achieve? Does that prove anything other than the person is in serious denial? I could care less if she tries till she’s 80, for as you say she’s not hurting me. However if she goes public with it, then you have to wonder whether she’s just trying to drum up some ill will or pressure on Ryan, which some journalists have been only more than happy to feed. Ill will comes out of bitterness and a refusal to accept the inevitable. Those traits are not something I admire. The only possible opposite interpretation is that she’s a few cents short of a dime or her ego prevents her from entertaining the possibility that the team is better off without her.

As for respecting and admiring her, there’s a lot there to be admired. I will never argue about that. I respect everything she’s done for the game, all the hours of goodwill off the field as well as her game on the field. Her exit, however, is not something I admire. I don’t really know how better to explain myself, so I am done with it, obviously I am not getting through. (By the way, I would like to welcome you to the boards-you seem like a very well spoken poster –and-I will gladly join you in any word eating that might be required).

 

Boy we do have a negative look at things defensewins.Maybe Bivens should do the same as you say a give it up.

 

Where the heck did that come from?