Thank You 99ers

“Somewhere behind the athlete you've become and the hours of practice and the coaches who have pushed you is a little girl who fell in love with the game and never looked back... play for her.”

• Mia Hamm

I’ve read and reread this quote hundreds of times throughout my career. I was one of the lucky ones. I grew up with the 99ers in my backyard. Literally! Not only were they American but they became household names during the 1999 Women’s World Cup which was played at the Rosebowl - an hour drive from my childhood home. An event I am honored to say I was front row and center for.?

Playing football most of my adult life and being interviewed countless times, I’m always asked who inspired me or if I had role models, it was 100% these women. Seeing Mia Hamm in commercials with Jordan , or Nike making a cleat designed by her for women was inspiring to me. This made me think it was normal for women to be on billboards and to become professional athletes.

Moving to Europe and realizing my teammates never had those experiences shocked me and even more so later in my career when players 20 years younger than me told me that they didn’t have role models. I was always flabbergasted.?

I was always able to look up to these women. No, I couldn't watch them on TV weekly and there was no Instagram to follow them, but I saw commercials and cut out their pictures from magazines or watched Brandi Chastain on talk shows after she triumphantly ripped off her shirt and swung it around after scoring her penalty kick.? Anytime in practice I scored (which as a GK wasn’t often) I would mimic her, the OG version of Ronaldo's jump and twist celebration.?

Later through the twist and turns of my career I’ve come across some of them and have been able to thank them personally for being the foundation my career was built on. Without them I don’t know where I would be.?

So, as this year marks the 25th anniversary of their triumph, I want to say THANK YOU to the US Women’s National Team of 1999 and all the women who were a part of their journey. These women, the 99ers, deserve to be remembered and thanked for their contribution not only to the game but the role they played in bringing visibility to all women in sport. They showed what courage, passion and dedication looks like. I can’t wait to tell my daughter all about them and how they inspired mommy to grow up and be a professional football player.?