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Friday, April 20, 2001
Q&A with Tiffeny Milbrett
ABC Sports Online
ABC Sports sat down with U.S. Women's National Team star Tiffeny Milbrett earlier this spring to talk about her team's thrilling victory over China to win World Cup '99.
ABC Sports: What has it been like to be a part of the U.S. National Team for so many years?
|  | | Tiffeny Milbrett on the ball in the Women's Soccer Semi-Finals of the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games.
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Milbrett: Probably months after that victory, I had no idea what it meant for us and for the world and for the world of women's sports. But since that day, every so often I get a glimpse of how amazing it was to be a part of that team because you can't erase that. You can't erase being there and I think that's the the one thing that I appreciate the most is that I was there. I was part of that team that made history and made significant strides in women's athletics.
ABC Sports: A lot of your teammates say that they don't remember a lot about the World Cup Final. What do you recall the most?
Milbrett: I'm not kidding you, I don't remember a lot of that game either. I've watched the game a couple times since that day, that's how I remember some things. There's only bits and pieces and moments. I remember the Anthem. I remember the overtime and I remember the penalty kicks, and that's pretty much it. Other than that, as far as like the crowd, I can't tell you. I see pictures of that day and of that crowd and the stadium and I don't recognize a thing.
ABC Sports: What is it you remember feeling that hot day during the National Anthem?
Milbrett: I thought it was a really cool anthem. Hanson sang it. I was like, Wow, they've never sounded this good before. I just thought it was just so amazing to be a part of that. It was so gratifying standing there in front of that crowd because we had worked so hard for that day and it finally came for us. We were getting ready to get on with the game and see what would come of it.
ABC Sports: What stands out in your mind about the penalty kicks?
Milbrett: Just that we never make penalty kicks as a team. Everybody's always shaky and there's fear in our eyes. And in any kind of penalty kick competition. But I can tell you, I saw something different in my teammates. I saw complete confidence. They were absolutely calm. No doubts whatsoever. And they weren't nervous or scared at all. I was just like, Whoa, this is just too weird. I think it's gonna happen. We're gonna win.
ABC Sports: What was it like after Brandi made her kick to win the Cup?
Milbrett: No thoughts really. Nothing but pure childlike celebration. Just going crazy. I remember I was sitting on the sideline and I swear I was one of the first ones out to Brandi. It was just pure enjoyment of the movement. Just being able to thank goodness that this is all done with. And we won.
ABC Sports: What do you think this game overall has done for you? As a person? As a player?
Milbrett: I just feel that the game of soccer has been able to give me what I wanted out of life. I just remember being a total Tomboy and athlete as a girl, but never having a lack of opportunity. And just knowing that's what I wanted. I wanted an active life. I wanted to play sports. And nothing else was as important to me. And soccer has afforded me that dream. And that luxury of being able to be a world-class Olympian coccer player.
ABC Sports: Who were your role models growing up?
Milbrett: Just the female athletes that were on TV, because it was a rare thing for them to be on TV. I think of three. Of course, Martina and Chris Evert. And then Flo Hyman. I think those three probably had the biggest impact for me. They didn't play soccer, but I respected hat those were top level women athletes. And they were accessible to you on TV.
ABC Sports: What does the final game mean to you, and where does it rank up there in history for women's sports?
Milbrett: I think the biggest impact was Billie Jean when she played Bobby Riggs. I don't remember the exact date, but from then to 1999 it took so long to have another major impact for women. And that's ridiculous. It shouldn't be that long. So, for me, it was such a relief because I could finally say, Everything you've been saying about women's sports is completely idiotic.
You say we couldn't draw people. Look what we did. You say people weren't gonna watch it. Look at the 40 million people that did just in the USA alone. You say that we couldn't generate any kind of interest. It was the thing of the summer. People remember where the heck they were watching that game that day. I have heard so many stories. So for me it was it was redemption.
I guess what that game really meant was just that it was a way for me to be able to find redemption in the fact that so many people have given or not given women's sports any credit. To be able to have been a part of that team and been a part of something that made history. was incredible because then we had proof. We had the proof for the naysayers.
ABC Sports: That game also represented the thrill of victory to put in Wide World of Sports terms for our 40th Anniversary Special.
Milbrett: That game was the ultimate thrill of victory. We had trained so long and hard for that game that year. But it wasn't about that. It was about so much more. It was about the impact that we had made in society. That's why it was so ultimate. We will forever have an impact on kids and women and dad's and men in changing their attitudes and how they think about women athletes.
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