These "things" can be matches you've attended in person or watched on TV, goal(s), meeting a player, blah blah blah... My top 5: 1) The All-Star Gala in Portland. That was a freaking blast!! I got to sit right next to Jen Tietjen. I got Mia to sign a birthday card. I ate prunes. For folks in the city of All-Star 2...do everything you can to get your butt to the Gala/match. 2) That one Gold Cup match I went to in Seattle where Mia didn't play and I froze my nuts off. Seattle is an awesome town and it's fans are awesome as well. I think that Saturday match had 20,000 folks in the stands at Safeco. 3) Taking my mom to a Freedom v Cybersquid match at Spartan this summer. She had a blast and spent alot of my $$$ on the slot machines in Reno. Folks...get your parents into the game. 4) Boycotting the infamous Beat v Freedom match in August . 5) Watching the Freedom go from the cellar in 2001 to the 2002 championship game.
1)U-19 Championships in Canada, with all the fans and stuff it was great to see. 2)Canada winning at the U-19 Championships against Brazil. I'm telling you I almost had a heartattack at 1 in the morning because of this game. 3)Canada making it to the finals at the U-19 championship and almost beating team USA in front of 50,000 people 4)Canada making it to the World Cup and giving the USA a scare in the Gold Cup final. 5)1-Christine Sinclair-what can you say she is just amazing and she was even a runner up for best female athlete of the year in Canada and she's only 19. 2- Kara Lang-amazing kid that could do great things for Canada.
1) The Whole Beat Season and working at the games and stuff 2) the Founder's Cup weekend- even if it didn't end the way i wanted it to it was still fun. not having to work duirng the game was great the rest of the weekend was fun too. 3) the road trips. 4) the 1-0 beat-freedom game, i didn't stare at Abby the whole time and actually watched the game better. The celebration afterwards was fun. 5) The Beat Pinic- that was just a blast.
I remember her now. Where did Hooper place on this list? Who were in the top ten? Serena was named top female athlete by the AP. Annika was #2. Sarah Hughes was named #3.
The article I found show the four finalists in order: "Hockey star Hayley Wickenheiser was second with 119 points, ahead of cross-country skier Beckie Scott (115), soccer player Christine Sinclair (64) and speed skater/cyclist Clara Hughes (63)." If you want the whole article here's the link: http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam021227/ws_doan-cp.html
These are numbered, but can be jumbled up any way and still make me happy. #1 - Going to Founders Cup 2. Sure the Freedom lost, but it was a great experience. I saw a beautiful goat by Mia and had the priviledge of watching it in a beautiful stadium. #2 - Meeting players at Centennial Olympic Park before FC2. Brandi, Jules, Lil, Tisha, Kate and Christie Pearce. I saw many more, but didn't have the opportunity to meet them. All great ladies. #3 - Watching loads of soccer all year. DirecTV SportsPack is a beautiful thing. #4 - Seeing Mia come back to the NT and score her first game back. Then seeing her get a double hat trick versus Scotland. #5 - Seeing Mia score 7 minutes into her first game back with Washington. I missed watching her do magical things.
There are so many memorable moments this year! In no particular order... Nonen introducing Prinz to the boards at Herndon in the Beat's first ever win over Carolina. Travelling to Carolina for the semis. Yeah, the ending sucked, but so goes it. And being made to feel that we were truly appreciated as fans by the team and the staff before, during, and after the game. It was an amazing, bittersweet day. The Founder's Cup. Yeah, it was sad that I didn't get to cheer for my team. But cheering against Carolina is almost as good. And it was nice to put faces to some of the usernames here. Seeing Scurry make a true comeback with the nats. She is phenomenonal. The look on Clive Charles' face when his Pilots finally won a title. And seeing the love that his players, old and new, have for him. And he for them.
1. The Come Back: After having to put up with 2 years of "she's washed up" "she should retire" I am sooo glad Mia came back guns a blazing. You people will never know the satisfaction I got from being right. I kept telling you people she wasn't done. Oh and seeing posts from the same haters prasing her season. Well you all never told me how that big plate of crow tasted? 2. Mia schooling Kluegel and scoring 7 minutes into her comeback. 3. Seeing the Mia put the fear of God into teams when she steped on to the pitch. 4. This one could easily be #1. Going to FCII and watching that game. Wasn't Mia's goal purdy? I met so many of my favorite players at the fan fest. BC laughed at me And Bri made me nervous when I spoke with her. Oh and Carla gave me a hug and took a picture with me after the game. 5. All those wonderfull NT games we had on tv. The US cup and Gold cup. All those clubbings and of course..... Mia's golden goal,
5. fcII. ok so i must admit: my 21st bday was august 24, 2002. nuff said. 4. c-rays in carolina. this was my mom's first wusa game. she really enjoyed it and actually even recognized players and waited for autographs with me. 3. breakers in carolina. seeing tracy is always a good thing. 2. the charleston game. theres nothing like trying to video tape the girls warming up and hold up signs with a cast on your right arm (broken fingers) in the pouring rain. although i was cold and wet, the girls put on a real show for us. 1. chris ducar recognizing me (in rare form) at a hotel in clemson when i didnt even know the unc girls were there. my reaction was "wow, that girl looks like catherine reddick. and that looks like mr ducar... wait he's calling my name. sh!t, that is mr ducar and all i'm wearing is a t-shirt."
2002 was a great soccer year even though my NY Power finished in last place. I wouldn't say these are in any order cuz it's hard to put one over the other. 1) FC2 a great weekend...got to meet alot of y'all and players (one of which was Millie) 2) the two Gold Cup games in Cali...even though Millie sat the bench for one of them, her goal and assist and the pointing to the scoreboard showing the TNT player who really sucked was worth seeing! 3)ok this one is 2 games...both NY wins that I was at! 1- game opener win over DC at DC (4-1) Millie scored 2 great goals...and 2) the 2-1 win over SD...any win over SD after the romp was worth seeing plus I won my Milbrett jersey at that game 4)ok I just realized my #2 had 2 games, #3 had 2 games and guess what...#4 is having 2 games =) 2 more Gold Cup games...Millie's 5 goals against Panama and the Final... both Millie and Mia's goals were beautiful!!!!! 5) UP and Clive!!!!! enough said! =) honorable mention NY/SJ game with the Millie hat trick and the PK's ...that was one of if not the best WUSA game of 2002! actually this should be in the top 5.
Even though the city where I was born has now gone 19 years without a major professional sports title, there were 5 moments that stood out for me, counting up; good and bad. 5 (tie). The resignation of the Courage's coach AND general manager, after a championship season; certainly not a good portend for the future. July 20: Charge-Carolina III. The 'Sweep'. 3-5-2. An NAIA rookie shutting down the one of the three best women's soccer players in Europe. 4. April 20: The 5-hole game... New York/San Diego. The defining moment, unfortunately, of Saskia Webber's career. 3. June 1: Even though it eventually turned out in hindsight to be the night the Charge's championship hopes ended (the ACL injury to league MVP candidate Kelly Smith), Marinette Pichon hoisted them on her back and the team reeled off a league-tying 9-match unbeaten streak. With a healthy #8, you can't just hope to stifle Pichon in 2003. 2. June 19: Charge at Carolina. Beavis and Butt-head would have had a better chance of scoring that night than the Courage did on Melissa Moore. A fantastic career high 10-save, 'up yours' performance to those who didn't think she was WUSA (nor USWNT) material. For the latter, an impending WWC snub they may very well live to regret in 10 months. That night especially, it wasn't just the D. And as good as she was that night, a shutout of Boston four days earlier, with no local TV of any kind, may have been *better*, since there was no margin for error. 1. May 8: Goal of the Year. Smith mowing through the en-fricking-tire Washington defense and on national TV, no less. Paul
In roughly chronological order: 1. The Freedom in their second home game coming from behind to beat the defending WUSA champions - the first indication that 2002 wasn't going to be like 2001. 2. Can I sneak in a mention of the US Men doing so well in the World Cup? 3. Mia Hamm. Seven minutes. 4. The Freedom defeating the Charge (and shutting up their fans) when it counted, on a stifling hot day at Villanova, not to mention the incredible fan showing at that game. 5. Carrie Moore going from occasional player to WUSA All-Star in the course of a season.
Okay, here are mine: 5. The WUSA All-Star game. How freakin cool was that? I loved every minute of that game. ( WOO-HOO! WAR SOUTH TEAM!) 4. The always consistent play of the icomparable Kristine Lily. 3. The Pilots beating Santa Clara for the national championship. 2. The Gold Cup. The whole damn thing. Especially...Mia taunting that Costa Rican girl ( wasn't it a Costa Rican? I don't remember), Millie's 5 goal game, and the Golden Goal. WAR USA! And my numero uno soccer "thing" Breakers v. Freedom: The Return of the Great One 7 minutes in...Mia v Jena BOOYAH!