May 18, 1999
Hello, and welcome to my site!! I'm very excited to have my own place on the internet and I hope you enjoy seeing all the things we have created for you as well as catching up with me and my teammates as we train for the 1999 Women's World Cup.
The 1999 Women's World Cup will be held from June 19 - July 10 at eight venues around the country, including opening ceremonies at Giants Stadium in New Jersey, and the finals (which I hope we are in!) at the Rose Bowl in California. Every game will be televised on either ABC or ESPN, and the event has already sold over 250,000 tickets! Needless to say, I'm psyched to represent my country in the 3rd Women's World Cup, especially with it being held here.
Since January, we have all been training in Orlando, Florida, in what is called "residency." This means we will be living together for the six months leading up to the tournament, getting ready to face our competition this summer. As one of the favorites to be there in the finals this summer, we are anxious to defend our Gold-Medal-winning performance at the '96 Olympic Games in Atlanta, where we beat China in the final game to take home the FIRST Gold Medal for our sport. However, we know if we are focused and prepared as a team, we have as good a chance as any team in the tournament to win! We won the '91 World Cup -- the first for our sport -- but lost in '95 to Norway. We will never forget that loss, and I think it drives us even today to be the best we can be. It certainly was a big motivator for us winning Gold in '96. I think you could describe the emotions of our team right now as anxious, excited, a little nervous, but most importantly, psyched to compete and hopefully, to win!
We went to Chicago for a game on Sunday May 16th v. Holland and won 3-0. It was our second win against them - we also faced them last Thursday in Milwaukee and won 5-0. After the game on Sunday we returned to Orlando for more training. We have a few more games left before the World Cup starts in June, so we're all getting pretty excited to play in the tournament this summer.
My schedule from now 'till the Cup is pretty intense; lots of practice, training, and preparation, doing what I can to promote the event, trying to get a little "down time" to play golf (a few nice courses in Orlando), see my husband and family, and just take it easy. I live with two of my teammates, Tisha Venturini and Brandi Chastain, and we try to keep some level of sanity in our lives at home. Overall, it's an exciting time.
Well, I guess that's all for now. Until next time, enjoy our site, and root us home this summer!
MIA
June 1, 1999
Hey everybody,
The countdown has begun! It's June 1st, only 18 days away from the start of the Women's World Cup. Our first game is on Saturday, the 19th against Denmark at Giants Stadium. We're also up against Nigeria and South Korea in the first round. As far as I'm concerned, they are all difficult opponents. There are 16 teams in the World Cup, and they all had to qualify by winning various tournaments, so all the teams will be competitive. We will take no one lightly.
I'm really looking forward to competing in the Cup again. Winning the Olympics in '96 was special because it was the first time women's soccer was a medal sport. It is something I will never forget. However, the World Cup is the Super Bowl of soccer, except it is worldwide, and since we did not win in '95, it will be extra special if we win it this summer. I don't really compare, I just want to win this summer and help me team in any way I can to achieve this goal.
Speaking of the team, things are really coming together for us as a group right now. We're very tight, and are playing really well together. It has been a long and challenging six months of training for the event, but I think we are getting really close to being ready to compete at the highest level. This is a very competitive and focused group right now.
That is one of the reasons why during the next few weeks and in the event itself, we will not be doing much in the way of promotion. We have tried to keep it to a manageable level throughout our six months of training and I think we all have been able to balance it pretty well. It's critical that no one lose focus on our goal -- to win the Cup. If we were sidetracked by off-the-field commitments, we would never forgive ourselves for not being prepared, so we were careful not to let that happen.
Some of you may know that I scored my 108th career goal in our 3-0 victory over Brazil on the 22nd. That was a really special moment for me. I'm sure when my playing career is over, I'll reflect and be proud of that accomplishment. But right now, I'm just glad we are winning and starting to play really well together. I think we are peaking at the right time, going into the Cup this summer. I feel pretty much the same way about the possibility of winning the Golden Boot award for the leading goal scorer in the Cup. My focus is on helping my team win the event. Any personal awards are secondary when compared to the big picture, winning the Cup this summer. It would be nice, but I really don't think about it.
I'll catch up again next week and answer some of your posts as soon as I can!
MIA
June 29,1999
Hello fans,
Well, we are headed for the quarterfinals against Germany. We had to win, tie or lose by less than 5 goals to advance to the quarters. North Korea needed a win to advance. By winning all 3 of our games we are on the same side of the bracket as Nigeria and Brazil. With a win we would face the winner of that game in the semifinals.
Germany is going to be very good, so we know to be ready. We feel good going into the quarters. We don't have any injuries, knock on wood, and we were able to play a lot of our bench yesterday which gets everyone involved and rests some players. The team has been really excited by the amazing crowds. We are scoring and playing good defense but there's much work to be done yet.
Speaking of the crowds. They have been awesome, even better than we thought they would be. We are all soaking up the atmosphere as much as possible and that has made us all more intense on the field. It's hard to describe, but the crowds have been inspiring.
There is not too much negative to say about our play other than we have been slow starters. We came out of the gate against Nigeria and Denmark slowly and it took us a while to get our bearings. Maybe it was the pressure getting to us, but I think we are past that a little and have hit our stride and found our groove. We all know why we are here and what's at stake. We are confident but not over confident.
Anyway, I want to thank you for all the messages, the overwhelming support and the awesome crowds, keep em' coming.
Mia
August 11, 1999
Hey fans,
Sorry I have not written in a while. I have been so busy after the World Cup Final and I am trying to get my life back in order.
It is hard to put into words what we were all feeling going into the Finals, and even harder to explain how I felt on that final penalty kick I took right before Brandi. When I stepped up to the line, all I could think was don't make eye contact with the goalie bacause she is intimidating and don't throw up...hahaha. From there it was all instinct.
What makes the win so special is that we did this as a team. The Cup created so many new heroes that it makes what we did more of a team effort. I am so proud of all of my teammates for having the mental and physical toughness to withstand all of the pressure and the amazing, tough opponents we faced.
I think the event elevated women's sports to a whole new level. It has been awesome and the fans and general public have been amazing. We sold out huge venues and millions watched us on TV. The response from the country was bigger then we ever expected. I think you will see our sport and women's sports in general grow over the next few years, and the Olympics are right around the corner.
There's a ton of talk about a pro league. Our sport needs to remain competitive in a world that is putting out better competition each year. If we want to stay at the top we need to have a platform for players to compete year-round at a high level. The public also seems ready for a pro league, so I think you will see one after 2000.
For now, I am busy speaking at companies, doing appearances, working with my sponsors and I will be coaching in the fall. Upcoming we have a victory tour, games with the National team and other appearances, including work for my foundation, so I will be real busy.
Thanks again to all of you out there that made this event so awesome. Thanks to all of the behind-the-scenes people that worked so hard so we could focus on playing soccer. The support was overwhelming and I know I will never forget this special time in my life.
Mia
These entries can be accessed on AOL by keyword: Mia Hamm, AD, or Athlete Direct. I am in NO way related to or involved with AOL (other than a customer).
