On the recent USWNT goings-on.
I've read Bonnie's stuff for a while now, but I hadn't met her until the 2006 World Cup, where she went out of her way to be nice to me.
"You ask good questions," Bonnie complimented me after a press conference.
I have to say, it was one of the highlights of my World Cup trip.
11 comments:
I would have thought the bike rides would have been atop the list.
Best article I've read on this topic. With Solo obviously the best keeper and the Olympics so close some serious counseling looks to be in order. Let us see how the so-called team leaders act now.
John
Best article I've read on this topic. With Solo obviously the best keeper and the Olympics so close some serious counseling looks to be in order. Let us see how the so-called team leaders act now.
John
Bonnie is a great writer.
We were so lucky to have her covering soccer (and international sports) for the Chicago Tribune for quite a few years. She was terrific getting stories at the World Cups (men's & women's), providing meaningful match recaps, and following qualifying matches throughout CONCACAF.
Her stories about Mexico v USA at the Azteca were some of the best written about the beautiful game.
She was one of the first local writers to really put some time and effort to come up with great background stories about the USWNT even when there wasn't a tournament upcoming.
Since she left the Tribune, much of her work has been devoted to tennis & cycling. Although neither is amongst my favorite sports to watch, Bonnie's work is still great reading. It's always a special treat when she serves up a soccer piece like this one.
... and, as you indicate, she is truly a really nice person as well.
"Solo-tary confinement".
whew. man... that's, uh... that's some pun there.
whew...
No thanks. Ac and her past articles already covered what this Bonnie wrote about. Moreover, what rendered a part of her piece unbelievable was stating that Hope took a jab at Scurry.
For the thousandth time, Hope did not attack Scurry. Words mean things and inferring something onto Hope doesn’t make it so. Point is, she did not bash Briana she criticized Ryan's decision of resorting to past greatness to prove to the world that he was a great coach.
On another note when Mia Hamm told DiCicco to "coach us like men and treat us like women", make me spit my drink up. This Hamm is a feckless moron who overplays the sex card game ad nauseam. Her day is up and makes many men sick of female athletes who see everything through the prism of gender. If I had been Tony I would have told her to stick it up her uterus.
Nice article--I'm glad to see this take on the whole scenario is still around and being published, so that the US Soccer adminstration knows it hasn't been let off the hook and is still being scrutinized.
My hope is that the new coach will use this as a chance to clean house. With four years 'til the next World Cup and the next pro league coming, surely they'll see that there's little use in keeping the veterans around--one more shot at a medal for the older players would set back the team's long-term prospects immensely. Now's the time to make the switch and build a new foundation.
To my mind, the Olympics would be a perfect springboard for a new version of the team, led by its younger players. It would give them a great opportunity to play leadership roles in a high-visibility contest and gain the experience you can only get in that way.
In my opinion, a young-only team wouldn't have any less chance to medal in the Olympics than they would with the likes of Lilly and Scurry on the field, and would be immensely invigorated. And, from a marketing standpoint, a team led by Kai, Tarpley, and Solo would be fabulously telegenic and popular back home. That's a team the country would rally around.
Sputter through another tournament with the same veterans running the show, and when the next Cup comes around and the veterans are gone, you'll have a team of not-so-young-anymore players who never really got their chance to take the lead in a big-time tournament. Throw into the mix other WNTs like Brazil and England who will undoubtedly develop much further by then, and the result could look like your typical men's Cup--not where the US women want to be.
Who knows--that's just how it looks from my amateur vantage point.
You know, Ryan's replacement should make sure that neither Lilly nor Wambach ever wear the captain's armband again as long as they play for the national team. They instigated this garbage, at worst, or acted like Ryan's tools, at best. Either of them could have stopped it. Neither of them did.
As far as I'm concerned, every player should be fined at least $1,000 for this travesty. Scurry should be fined an extra $500 for not stepping in to end this when she could have. Lilly and Wambach should be fined an extra $1,500 apiece.
This wasn't about "reconciliation." This was about trying to break a person's spirit.
If there's anything good to come out of this, it's that the carefully crafted image of the All-American Girls of Summer has finally been shot to pieces.
Great article...and you DO ask good questions.
Wow, Joseph, strong words, but I completely agree.
You are correct Kev. the Olympics should be treated as a U23 competition for the women to build that new leadership and give them the full tournament experience - not just the bench riding experience.
In my view, too much emphasis is placed on the Olympics by USSF. It should be seen as a stepping stone tourney and not the equal of the World Cup.
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