No I think you confuse that with what you would do if you were a sports writer. Remember how the Media went on a Mia bashing spree in 2001? The fact that she is "Mia Hamm" didn't stop them. I think your problem is that the media doesn't do the job you would like. If it were up to you the media should have changed Julie Foudy's name in all their articles to "Demon Child of Satan". Isn't that what is at the root of this thread and the other two you started? Your not so overly concerned with the "myth of the 4 who run the team" but rather where in all of that does Julie Foudy sit. The team's struggles have more to do with April's coaching than a four-headed monster having complete control over the team. Not really since these games were set up before the Cup even started. Once again you are over reaching in an effort to blame everything on Foudy. Brandi was on the bench because she was under contract to be there. Not because Wynalda says the "almighty clique" controls everything. Yes it does. But that should come next year before Oly qualifying. In the grand scheme of things how much weight should these two meaningless friendly have on that? IMO not much. They come at the tail end of a very long season. And their only purpose is fan appeasement. They served their purpose. Fans in Dallas got to see Mia. They got to wave at Brandi and Julie. thinking that these two games will have any effect on (other than the possible dismissal of April) next years campaign is far fetched.
How misserable was it if they won 3-1? And my point wasn't that they blame anything on a freinds wedding. None of these players would ever put up that excuse. And i would be disapointed if they did. I was making a point about the purpose behind this thread. The title is in refrence to a sarcastic comment made post game.
a> it was a contract made prior to the world cup tom, figuring the team would win the world cup <bad assumption on their part> they wanted the same squad for these two post-world cup "exhibitions" to show off the team who was supposedly going to win the cup. b> got pasted? tom. they won every game in a dominating fashion, then ran in to a very strong german team that showed just how well they were playing by winning the world cup. and even in the germany game it wasn't as if they got pasted...they lost 3-0 b/c at the end they pushed the entire team forward going for that goal to tie the score at 1-1 and it bit them in the butt.
Don't take my word for it. Scroll through some of these threads and you will find almost unviversal condemnation of the USWNT performance. We used to beat Mexico 9-0. Now, Mexico is fortified with better players trained due to The Quota and we have trouble beating them at home. I don't remember any Mia-bashing frenzy in 2001. I'm not going to play the usual game here and demand links to news sources. But you can try to refresh my memory. Don't blame April. I don't think she is calling the shots. Don't blame the USSF either. After what happened to Hank Steinbrecher do you really expect Dr. Bob or Dan Flynn to get tangled up in this? Did anyone listen to what Rob Stone said about Ms. Foudy during the game? Just because Rob Stone says it does not make it true, but it does make it mainstream. And it is what I have been saying all along. He said Ms. Foudy was not playing well because she was over-extended with trying to get "the league" going again, Title IX, AND RUNNING FOR GOVERNOR OF CALIFORNIA. Just what I have been saying all along. Ms. Foudy has an absolute right to run for public office. But don't use the USWNT as a springboard to that. How can you be captain of the Spirit, captain of the USWNT, on the Board of the WUSA, Director of the Women's Sports Foundation, sitting on the Title IX commission, appearing on TV constantly, being a color commentator for TV broadcasts, and making preparations to run for political office? You can't do justice to all of these endeavors. She should have retired from national team duty and WUSA duty to concentrate on her poilitical activities if that is where her heart lies. This is what Wynalda said too. Just my opinions.
This is a team that 4 years ago would have beat Mexico 10-0. It looks like the world is catching up to the US women.
I don't blame the USSF or April. Ms. Foudy seems to be calling the shots, deciding who gets on the team, who plays, who gets subbed for and so on. April has no authority and the team morale seems to be close to zero. -Thomas Flannigan can we just macro this so because every single thread he starts always comes down to this. It's like a freakin minah bird : "Julie Foudy is the Devil...Title IX should be disbanded...The Quota is the font of all evil...Polly wanna cracker? Polly wanna cracker" I think I speak for most of bigsoccer when I say : keep your opinions to yourself. On second thought, don't, since your threads supply large amounts of unintentional humor that they are enjoyable. I think the really sad part is that if it comes right down to it I probably agree with you on most salient points : Title IX needs reworking, the USWNT needs an overhaul (actually they are rather at the stage of the '98 mens team that crashed in France). But to connote that Julie Foudy and Dr. Lopiano are actively plotting the downfall of all male sports as is your wont is ludicrous - as are your continuing assertations that CONCACAF is biased against the U.S. How many times will you be proven wrong before you stop tilting at windmills Don Quixote?
Title IX is fine with me, I am just opposed to The Quota. You can fabricate arguments all you want. I have never called for the repeal of Title IX. Concerning bias against the U.S., that is really the subject of another thread but I don't think I am breaking any new ground by pointing out that the U.S. is universally despised around the world, that many countries resent the ascendance of the USMNT, and that the USMNT has been the victim of some questionable draws and awful refs. Coach Arena told Sports Illustrated that the Confederations Cup draw was "rigged." I am not the only critic of Ms. Foudy. Look around these threads and you will find some pretty hard core fans asking: "Why is she on the team, why is she out there on the field." It is my understanding that Ms. Foudy and Ms. Chastain intend to be on the Olympic team. There seems to be widespread opposition to this. Someone is this thread said that, save 1 or 2 changes, the WWC team will be the Olympic team. I am not going to be a whoopee cushion and demand a link, but I'll bet he or she is right. Elroy wrote eloquently about how the "Eternals" have hogged all the development opportunties for 10 years so the next generation has not been given a chance to develop. I'll tell you one thing: The German Women's team sure had time to practice!
tom, again...refresh my memory...when did the uswnt get "pasted" as you said? sure they lost to a fine german team but i don't really remember them getting "pasted" in the wwc.
We lost 3-0, at home to a team we used to beat handily. We barely won the consolation game against a team we used to beat 9-0. I don't want to get hung up on terms. If you don't like "pasted", that is fine. But it was sure a disappointment. I am also echoing the pre WWC criticism of experts like Andy Mead who said the team was too old, that we needed new blood. Boy, do we need new blood.
good to see you know your history tom did you watch the 1999 world cup? i don't think you'll get any arguements on that, even from the most die-hard uswnt supporters. a massive change of guard is about to happen and to make is less of a struggle, it should have been been happening the past few months if not years...
Couldn't Agree More Spot on. I was concerned about the age/conditioning of the team before the WWC as well, although I thought the USWNT would pull it off and win the championship anyway. Boy was I wrong. The 1991 WC is over, as is the 1995 WC and the 1999. There should have been a lot more new blood on the 2003 team, and only 2-3 of the very best conditioned holdovers from those previous eras should have been included but used sparingly as subs. THE USWNT needs to go with youth, speed, and skills, and let the chips fall where they may. May I also add that the loss of the WUSA is not as bad as most people think. The womens college game is very good, and provides an adequate pool of world class womens players for the national team. We just need to scout out the skills and speed better.
read anything from Soccer America that mentioned Mia. It was almost impossible for Grant Wahl to Not mention Mia sucking. It was almost impossible for the bastard to mentiona Milbrett without throwing in a jab at Mia. If you don't remember everybody and there mother coming out of the woodwork and bashing Mia then... you didn't read anything RE: womens soccer in that year.
Well see thats another classic case of you being in such a hurry to blame everything on Foudy. Foudy did not run for office nor did she devote any time to it. If you have this game ontape i suggest you watch that bit again. Only this time take off your Julie Foudy Hating ear muffs. Then you might actually here what Rob said regarding "running for office". "with all she's been doing I'm surprised she didn't run for govener of California"-- Stone.
god forbid it should have anything to do with the fact that the two teams in question have actually gotten better.
Julie Foudy is running for office. As I said, there is nothing wrong with that. I think she has been doing it for years. This article says she is working on tons of projects but even took time off from WUSA meetings for the World Cup. http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/sports/6853575.htm
And the US men seem to be catching up to the world. Do you blame one thing (Title IX) for the change in the women's game or are their multiple factors? Also, can someone point out to me where it says in that article that Julie Foudy "is" running for office. They talk about how Lopiano "wants" her to run for office, but I don't think she is actually a candidate for anything. If she is, more power to her. The American system needs more people who want to serve in political office. I wouldn't vote for her in 100 years, but I'm glad she's involved instead of sitting on the sidelines creating mythical hypothesis about how the world's coming to an end.
And what does that mean? what exactly is the point behind your comment? Are you saying the Team underprepared for the cup?
What office?!!! You're just making things up now. where the hell do you get that from? Did Wynalda say so?
You will recall the last game in Columbus. The squeals of pain from 5000 oblvious drones, "WE WANT MIA" "WE WANT MIA" after all 3 subs had already been made. The US Women's National Team is no longer about Representing the Flag in the Women's game. Fed Officials will be loathe to make any changes until after the Olympics. Foudy will call the shots in Athens, and then, with their skills diminishing and their league gone, the era of ALL MIA ALL THE TIME will fade in to the sunset, just about the time the Men's Hex is heating up. I hope Foudy does run for President. It will get her the fvck away from the LadyNats. We need a complete catharsis and purge, and a coach with balls, and I mean that figuratively and literally. If we want to get back on top, we need to put someone in April's position who will not hesitate to CRUSH all opposition, both internal and external. As long as a Woman is coaching the LadyNats, it will be impossible for the Coach to make Objective decisions without the spectre of the Subjective nature of Title IX politics which, as a Woman, she can not genetically fend off or deflect. -bs
Thomas doesn't need a quote. As evidenced by her incredibly diverse interests and activities in a number of forums, it's clear that Foudy is "running for office" even if she has yet to "decide what office to run for". Ahnold spent 7 years attending smoke-filled rooms and lingering in the background of various forums. He was preparing to run for office. Julie, as evidenced by her actions, is "running for office." And based on her form this year, she may have to accelerate her timetable to transition 100% in to the political arena, although that won't be too difficult as she was already 90% of the way there. -bs
One thing to add here. During the ACC final, the announcers said that when Catherine Reddick came back to UNC from the WNT pool, she needed a week to get to a point of match-fitness. To me, that's an indication that something is wrong. You cannot tell me that our WNT practices are less than college-level intensity. Gods, Cat scores two vs. NoKo and she isn't match-fit? Maybe Anson is bucking for the WNT post???
Match Fit? To TOTC; I mentioned in another post that I had heard that the USWNT did not have any fitness sessions from when Ape called the team together in preparation for the WWC through the third-place match. That's incredible! That's also why everyone was running out of gas halfway through the second half of the matches. Ape has come full circle from having the team run a full fitness workout a day before the USA-Canada match in preparation for the Olympics in 2000 to NO fitness in preparation for WWC 2003. Maybe Dr. Feelgood Hacker thought it might to too much of a stressor on the ladies to have them sweat that much. Get rid of Ape and her team shrink! Aparently Tony filtered a lot of what the good doctor had to propose. Ape has bought into it hook, line and sinker to the point where it's actually Hack who "runs" the team. Grrr.
As for Heinricks, I question her choice of line-up in the Germany match. Why wasn't Pierce in the game attacking the flank. She was having a much better tournament than Bivens on both sides of the ball. I was shocked when I saw the line-up. And I don't understand coaches, who were players, who don't understand rhythmm. You can't just bench players a whole game and expect them to jump back into things after watching a match from the bench. It just doesn't work. Put them in, and decide which 3 you need to rest the most and pull them in the second half when you have the match in hand (hopefully). I don't know if she needs to be replaced or not, but I think that she seriously needs to work on her strategy. These women don't need anyone to motivate them. They know why they are there and how to get it done. Just don't get in the way.