Editor's Note: We continue with yet another random, new series on the Free Beer Movement. Soccer fans come in all shapes, colors, and sizes and how they became fans of the sport are as diverse as they are. While most of us are engrossed in the on-field action, the tactics, the drama.... for many it is more personal, more intimate.
Introducing "The Beautiful Game" a series that focuses on the lighter side, the more attractive side of soccer. Don't worry we're not trying to become "Kickette", but, in our ever-expanding quest to cover the cultural side of the sport its hard to look past a pretty face. Our contributor Amanda will be serving up soccer's best specimens from both sexes with a wit that only she can provide.
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And we’re back for the second installment of The Beautiful Game! Since this column started off with a look at some old-school Men’s National Team players (deathmatch-style, but still, a look), this time we’re turning the tables and checking out the ladies. (Note: this column is written by a straight girl, but we’re equal-opportunity when it comes to aesthetic appreciation.) And again, we’re going back in time, to appreciate the World Cup-winning 1999 Women’s National Team. And don’t worry, I’m not virtually killing anyone this week.
First up, Kristine Lilly. This woman is amazing. She’s been a player on the WNT for four decades, starting at the very beginning of the program in 1987, when she was in high school, and only retiring last year. She was playing on the WNT before some of her most recent teammates (like Alex Morgan) were even born. She’s played in every Women’s World Cup so far and set the all-time caps record for any national team player - yeah, ANY national team player. Any country, regardless of gender. Kristine Lilly beats them all. And with 352 caps, I’d guess her record is gonna stand for a long time. Basically, I have a total girlcrush on Kristine Lilly, and I hope she comes back to the game in some capacity soon. Though maybe not on the field, because as much as I love her, she probably needs a break, and the WNT definitely needs some new blood.
Next, Mia Hamm. Even though she retired in 2004, I would still bet you money that if you asked an average American to name a soccer player, she’d be one of the first mentioned. She holds the all-time scoring record for a national team player - again, like Kristine Lilly, when I say “all-time,” I mean more than any other player in the recorded history of soccer. I’m trying to come up with analogies to other players and other sports, but I’m getting a little stuck, because so few players have so completely dominated their sport in the way Mia Hamm did. Maybe Michael Jordan? Oh, wait. Nike totally got there ahead of me.
Seven years after her retirement, Mia Hamm is still in a lot of ways the face of women’s soccer in America. Which is amazing, considering that she’s mostly been focusing on her charity and raising her family since then. But when you’re probably the all-time best player in your sport (and pretty darn cute as well), that’s what happens, I guess.
Meet Amanda
I'm a lawyer in South Texas, a.k.a. the middle of nowhere. I drive three hours each way to attend all the Dynamo home games I can, and that's only partially because standing with Texian Army gives me a
great view of Tally Hall from behind. Hot players are a bonus, but I'd love the game even if they all looked like Carlos Tevez (the women too). You can find me on The Girls in the Cheap Seats, talking about the American game as part of a rotating cast of smart female fans. I post my own nonsense over at Needs More Kittens,and tweet more than I should here.
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