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Friday, April 20, 2001
Q&A with Mia Hamm
ABC Sports Online
ABC Sports sat down with U.S. Women's National Team star Mia Hamm earlier this spring to talk about her team's thrilling victory over China to win World Cup '99.
ABC Sports: Could you tell us about the team a little bit?
Hamm: Well, to be a part of the women's National Team is a total and complete honor. I think a lot of us have grown up together, we've experienced a lot and it's amazing where the sport has come and just how we've all grown up right in front of each other. And I wouldn't trade the experiences on this team and friendships that I have for anything.
|  | | Mia Hamm dribbles the ball up the field during the Women's World Cup final against China at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California on July 10, 1999. |
It's an extremely special group. I think people always wanna focus on the accomplishments on the field but when I think of this team, a smile comes to my face just because of the people that they are and the way they genuinely care about each other and wanted to see each other succeed and be the best that they can be, both on the field and off the field.
ABC Sports: What was it like for you going out onto the field at the Rose Bowl with more than 90,000 people, Bill Clinton there, and the whole 9 yards. What was that feeling?
Hamm: One of the great feelings about that final game was something this team has always been incredibe at -- no matter what people say and no matter what people think about the environment - is the calmness about our team. And one of my favorite pictures, and I've said this before, was taken of our team prior to that final game. And if you show it to someone and ask them, When do you think this picture was taken? And they say, After you guys won. And I say, No, it was taken before we even stepped on the field. Everyone was so happy and smiling, there wasn't a nervous face. There wasn't any fear in anyone's eyes. What you saw was just people enjoying the moment, enjoying being part of this incredible event and being proud and honored to be where they were that moment in time. And regardless of what else happened on that field, we were successful and we enjoyed what we do.
And so for us playing that final game was just an opportunity to share that love that we felt for each other and for the game and that incredible event and that's what we tried to do. You had two teams that went after each other for 120 minutes and neither team wanted to give up. The Chinese team, what an incredible group of individuals and then our team for all the pressure that it had on it, not only to play and win the event was one thing, but to sell that event. Every single player did whatever they needed to do to be there on that day.
ABC Sports: Can you talk about some of the highlights that day?
Hamm: There are a lot of moments in that game, even though sometimes you think it's kind of a blur. I remember just how unbelievably Carla Overbeck played. And considering everything that she had been through and just the leader that she was for our team. I think the way she played in that final game summed up what she meant to our team. I mean you talk about leadership -- she's classic. I mean, she is the one on the field. No matter where you are on the field, you always hear her voice and it's always very calming and always very positive.
Kristine's header (on the goal line to stop a Chinese goal), where in that brief two seconds you were on an emotional roller coaster. I saw the ball go over Bri and I didn't see Kristine. I was like, it's over. And then the ball gets headed out and then Brandi, with an acrobatic clear, gets the ball out and it changed the momentum of that game. But the other thing is every player that stepped on the field did what they needed to do. And whether it was the starting 11 or the players that came in, they made a difference. And they gave themselves to the team.
ABC Sports: The came the penalty kicks. You took the fourth one. What was going on in your head before taking it?
Hamm: I remember standing at midfield and all of us were talking. All we kept saying was, Never in your life do you have more confidence than you have right now at this moment. And when you walk up there, nothing else matters. You're up there for a reason and we believe in you, everyone in the stadium believes in you and this is our tournament and don't ever forget that. We worked too hard to let it go now. And everyone talks about that game but the fact that nine penalty kicks were made is an oddity. I mean considering the pressure of that moment, to have nine penalty kicks. And they weren't just nine barely going in, they were nine unbelievably taken, actually 10 and one brilliant save, taken that day. And everyone had that confidence.
ABC Sports: Now take us through your kick.
Hamm: I think if I had kept it as simple as that it probably would have been a bit easier, but I remember standing there while everyone was kicking it. I was nervous. I was just trying to focus on what I needed to do. I was always the last one who kind of went out and slapped people's hands when they came back. From when it was my turn I don't really remember the jog up there. I remember putting the ball down and the only thing I said to myself was just hit is solidly. If I hit the ball solidly I knew it would go in. Usually what happens when you miss PKs is if you mis-hit it. I hit it right on the spot on my foot that I wanted to and it went in and, I have to say, as soon as it went in it was just this immediate relief. People celebrate in different ways with happiness and for me it was just like, Yes. We did this.
ABC Sports: Then came Brandi's kick to clinch it.
Hamm: It's the one that is most memorable. It is definitely a pressure kick, and I think if you ask anyone on the field, anyone on our team, who would probably feel most comfortable taking that kick -- it's Brandi. Probably Michelle's the other one, but Michelle was out. But she just loves that environment, you know. Any challenge she's like, bring it on. She's one of the ones who likes to talk and it's great. It makes her who she it. And it makes her the competitor that she is.
So the fact that she took the last one being that the last time she took a PK against China was in Portugal and she missed meant she wasn't gonna miss again. And what a beautiful penalty kick. Side-netting and very powerful. Their goalkeeper guessed right, but she still couldn't get it. It was so perfectly taken and everyone went nuts. I mean everyone, all the emotion that we had felt for that entire year was released in Brandi and all of us. It was something very special.
ABC Sports: Of course, that set off a crazy few weeks for the entire team. That must have been special as well.
Hamm: After the World Cup, I don't think any of us slept for the next two weeks just because of everything we were doing and it was all wonderful and unbelievable. From going to New York and being on Letterman to being invited to the Space Shuttle launch to going to the White House and just the reception that we had from people.
To hear the stories when you went around the country of what people were doing at that time. People saying, I was at my friend's wedding and we had this portable TV and we were watching it and we were all going nuts, to, some reporter telling us, When Bri saved that shot, all across New York City, people were cheering. It gives me goosebumps now to think about that. And to hear from family members and husbands of players saying, You guys have no idea the way you made people feel sitting in those stands. That's awesome because, like I said, when you're out there it is more than just a game for us because we're playing for each other. But you tend to not understand sometimes how it crosses over. And I think just listening to the people talk and spending time with all these wonderful people that we were able to meet kind of changed our perspective in terms of what we do and what we can do.
ABC Sports: How did the victory impact women's sports and soccer in general?
|  | | Surrounded by her teammates, captain Carla Overbeck holds the World Cup trophy up proudly on that historic blistering hot July afternoon at the Rose Bowl. |
Hamm: I think what we've done has definitely changed some things. I think going around the country -- like at the Women's Sports Foundation big awards dinner - and just listening to female athletes that we all look up to talking to us about the impact we've made was probably the most flattering thing. And just about the opportunities that we now have. I always look at Billie Jean King and the founders of the LPGA who 50 years ago wasn't even a thought in their mind but they did it because they knew it would have a greater impact. They did it because they were looking outside of themselves and looking at their own sport but also understanding that this could change the way people think about all women's sports. And I think we had that opportunity as well.
ABC Sports: What did that final game do for you personally?
Hamm: As I get older, I know I can't do this forever and there are certain moments in your life that you feel change you in terms of a person. And that moment changed me. It changed me in hopefully nothing but a good way. And the way I think and feel about the people I associate with and how lucky and blessed I truly am to be able to do what I do and to do it with the friends that I have. People talk about representing your country, but when you're standing up there on that podium and regardless of your success is to know that you're up there with 19 of your closest friends and that win or lose, love you and support you anyway. That to me is priceless.
ABC Sports: You mentioned Billie Jean. Who were your role models growing up?
Hamm: I remember seeing Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova, their battles on the court. When I was in college, Steffi Graf just in tennis. Nancy Lopez, Jackie Joyner-Kersee, Flo Jo, Mary Lou Retton, I'm thinking about all the Olympic sports. I read a lot about Babe Didrickson, but a lot of these athletes were in individual sports and so a lot of my team sports role models were men, especially soccer and most of 'em were foreign.
ABC Sports: Many girls when asked that question would now mention you. How does that make you feel?
Hamm: I am happy that the young girls have a lot more choices these days and an opportunity to feel better about themselves. If this encourages one girl to go out there, and not necessarily try soccer, but just do something she was nervous about doing or achieve something that she wasn't sure she could do, it's a wonderful feeling. Whether it's stopping to say hello or signing an autograph or scoring a memorable goal for them. It's worth it.
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