Hamm, Foudy inductions among best of 2007
The 2007 National Soccer Hall of Fame Induction featuring Mia Hamm and Julie Foudy ranked ninth among the top 10 moments in women's sports last year as selected by the Women's Sports Foundation. A clip of the August induction ceremony was shown on April 15 when the top 10 list was announced at The Billie Awards, named for WSF founder Billie Jean King.
The number one moment of 2007 was Wimbledon announcing equal prize money for men and women. The 35th anniversary of Title IX, the federal education amendment of 1972 responsible for equality in college and high school sports, was No. 3.
I covered the Hamm and Foudy inductions on Aug. 26, though I had no idea the event would make a top 10 list. I cover high school soccer for the Observer-Dispatch in Utica, NY, which is about an hour from the National Soccer Hall of Fame and I was thrilled to go to Oneonta.
Soccer was my first sport. I was about nine when AYSO came to my hometown. I'll never forget my first jersey. I don't remember the number - probably No. 10 for Pele because this was in the 1970s. It was a mesh maroon v-neck and it looked snazzy with the white shorts. Maybe that's the pride many of the young girls at the Soccer Hall of Fame last summer felt as they walked in Hamm and Foudy jerseys. Most wore Hamm's No. 9 but there were a few in Foudy's No. 11.
The crowd was enormous, the bigger than those I'd seen at the Oneonta grounds for the boys state tournament games I covered there. That alone should've been a sign of the significance of the day. The women were inspirational in their speeches, given in front of a record. Neither Hamm nor Foudy talked about their records, World Cup wins or Olympic medals. They spoke of the people they met during their careers, the teammates and family who helped become two of the most accomplished athletes in American history, among men or women.
One of the last things I did before I left Oneonta to return to the newspaper was talk with a young family: a husband, wife and toddler-aged daughter. The child's name was Mia and the pregnant woman pointed to her stomach and said the unborn child would be named Julie. I asked the couple if they were serious and they said yes. I didn't get them into the story that ran in the paper the next day and I don't remember their explanation for the girls names. I could understand parents naming their children Peyton or Eli, Brett or Brady. But Mia or Julie? Come on. You can't put a number on that.
The number one moment of 2007 was Wimbledon announcing equal prize money for men and women. The 35th anniversary of Title IX, the federal education amendment of 1972 responsible for equality in college and high school sports, was No. 3.
I covered the Hamm and Foudy inductions on Aug. 26, though I had no idea the event would make a top 10 list. I cover high school soccer for the Observer-Dispatch in Utica, NY, which is about an hour from the National Soccer Hall of Fame and I was thrilled to go to Oneonta.
Soccer was my first sport. I was about nine when AYSO came to my hometown. I'll never forget my first jersey. I don't remember the number - probably No. 10 for Pele because this was in the 1970s. It was a mesh maroon v-neck and it looked snazzy with the white shorts. Maybe that's the pride many of the young girls at the Soccer Hall of Fame last summer felt as they walked in Hamm and Foudy jerseys. Most wore Hamm's No. 9 but there were a few in Foudy's No. 11.
The crowd was enormous, the bigger than those I'd seen at the Oneonta grounds for the boys state tournament games I covered there. That alone should've been a sign of the significance of the day. The women were inspirational in their speeches, given in front of a record. Neither Hamm nor Foudy talked about their records, World Cup wins or Olympic medals. They spoke of the people they met during their careers, the teammates and family who helped become two of the most accomplished athletes in American history, among men or women.
One of the last things I did before I left Oneonta to return to the newspaper was talk with a young family: a husband, wife and toddler-aged daughter. The child's name was Mia and the pregnant woman pointed to her stomach and said the unborn child would be named Julie. I asked the couple if they were serious and they said yes. I didn't get them into the story that ran in the paper the next day and I don't remember their explanation for the girls names. I could understand parents naming their children Peyton or Eli, Brett or Brady. But Mia or Julie? Come on. You can't put a number on that.
posted by Anne Delaney at
2:14 PM
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