WOMEN'S SOCCER QUOTES
QUOTES FROM THE CHAMPS
THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND THE FOUDY
"No doughnuts, no love" - Julie Foudy, the doughnut queen of the World
When I was a kid, I'd quit a lot of games because I hated losing so much. I thought if I'd quit before the game was over then I really didn't lose." - Mia Hamm
"You can never get tired of this and you can never get used to it, because it's always incredible." - Tiffeny Milbrett on the fans
"It was awesome. Really awesome." - Kristine Lilly on playing in front of 79,000 people in the World Cup 1999
"We're part of each other's lives. We're in each other's stories." Michelle Akers on the team
"Mac has one, if not THE hardest shot on this team and she has a knack for making the ball 'dance' or move. As a goalkeeper this makes your job hard and can lead to numerous jammed fingers...I know first hand." - Tracy Ducar
"You see Mia's true personality come out on the soccer field. Coupled with her athletic ability and talent, when she pulls it together, she's a dynamo." - Tony DiCicco
"First, is team chemistry. Second, is everyone really cares about one another. Third, is Mia Hamm." - Tiffeny Milbrett on what makes the team work
"I know I'm going to get killed. I'm going to wear arm pads, knee pads, all the protecting padding I can get. I'll probably need a helment by the end. I just hope I don't break anything." - Brianna Scurry on the indoor games
"Never in my wildest dreams did I think we would play in sellout stadiums like this stadiums like we did this summer. It's a great opportunity to connect with local kids and get them excited about their potential and what they can do." Mia Hamm
"When people ask how often I've been home since the World Cup, I say, 'Home? Where's home? What's home?' I'm in a whole other world. It's weird." Brandi Chastain
"She's a little demented. She's not all there. She's a few feathers short of a duck. She's like one of those really smart people who's pretty dingy. She's always tripping into things. She's a total klutz. That's a common joke on the team." Julie Foudy on Kate Sobrero
"Soccer isn't brain surgery, have fun." - Michelle Akers
"Julie was trying to tell me to get this funny dance or do something. I didn't know what to do. So, I just kind of ran around in circles. There was no real choreography to it. But they (her teammates) made me feel real special." - Mia Hamm about her 100th goal celebration
"She cracks me up all the time. Everyone thinks she's this quiet, reserved person because that's how she comes across in the media. But she is hilarious." - Julie Foudy about Mia Hamm
"Shannon's personality is about having fun and creating an environment around her that others can have fun in. She is the team prankster and is always joking and likes to nutmeg players in practice, and that is what she brings to the field. She tries tricky moves and tries to get the ball behind the defense and make things happen for everyone." - Brandi Chastain on Shannon MacMillian
"I grew up in a big Irish family, where everyone played the traditional sports, and I remember my grandfather saying to me, 'Why are you playing that communist game? You won't get anywhere with it.'" - Danielle Fotopoulos
"She's all about blood, sweat and tears and working her tail off, she's just awesome." - Kate Sobrero on Kristine Lilly
"I cannot keep myself away from ice cream. I have two flavors that are my favorite: chocolate chip cookie dough and vanilla swiss almond. I can eat a whole pint of ice cream in one sitting, no problem!" - Brandi Chastain
"We wanted to give back to the fans what they've given us, and that is unbelievable support thoughout the World Cup" - Carla Overbeck on the Victory Tour
"I hate it. The girl can shoot, the ball moves around, it knuckles, it dips. I feel bad for the other goalkeeper." Brianna Scurry on Shannon MacMillian's goalkicks
"If you've got hips, you can't be a gymnast or dancer. That ruled me out." - Mia Hamm
"Do you have the heart to push yourself? If you don't, find a way to get it because talent will only get you so far. You've got to be hungry. You've got to have heart. That's just reality." Tiffeny Milbrett
"In terms of history and sports, I don't think people will forget." - Kristine Lilly on the World Cup
"I play for the intense challenges that the game on the highest levels present. The whole team enjoys playng exciting soccer for the fans and my part in that makes me feel good about myself. The whole concept of teamwork is what keeps us all going. It's my role to create scoring chances, and to come through for my teammates is extremely satisfying." - Mia Hamm
"I just pulled up my shirt, stood off to the side and did it. Everybody was pretty mature about it." - Joy Fawcett on halftime breast-feedings
"The crowd was absolutely unbelieveable, it was awesome playing in front of 79,000." - Mia Hamm
"Most of us didn't have soccer role models growing up. We played because it was fun, and maybe if we got good, soccer could be a ticket to college. But the Olympics, the World Cup, a professional league, those were dreams you kept to yourself. Now we have a whole generation of girls who could actually become professional soccer players. They're our future, and it's up to us to instill in them the same love of the game we have." - Shannon MacMillian
"You develop a bond that comes from spending too much time together." - Julie Foudy
"We have the best flank midfielder in the world with Kristine Lilly, and this system gives us an opportunity to use her out there." - Tony DiCicco
"When we were these guy's age we really didn't have dreams to grab on to. Kids can now dream big and if they want, they can be a national team player and an Olympian as well." Tiffeny Milbrett
"Winning the World Cup, breaking record crowds and becoming part of society's little dream girls lately has been kind of nice." Kristine Lilly
"I'm not someone who goes around the locker room before a game trying to motivate my teammates. I don't say a lot before the game. I don't say a lot in general. It takes too much energy to do that." - Mia Hamm
"I actually had to get two fillings. Yeah, I swear. My teeth had been bugging me because I had been eating so much junk food on the road. I was the worst on teh team because I always had a bag of candy with me. I never had any cavities before, but yesterday, I took two for the team." - Tisha Venturini
"We're here to kill the soccer chicks!" - Julie Foudy to the gate guard at Brandi, Mia & Tisha's place
"Loves her dog Molson and has pictures of him in her locker, wallet, and probably on her bedroom wall too." - Michelle Akers about Kristine Lilly
"Goals have never defined me as a player. What has defined me is my impact on the team. If that means passing or playing defense to win, I'll do it." - Mia Hamm
"She's one of the nicest people on the team. She's unassuming, she's caring, she's always got a smile. She's very coachable. She's a joy to coach quite honestly. And she could be the best athlete on the team" - Tony DiCicco on Christie Pearce
Carla is a stud. She is a great leader and a great motivator. Carla is someone who makes you want to live up to her expectations and standards -- which are exceptional." - Michelle Akers on Carla Overbeck
"Known as the team exhibitionist (evey team has got to have one)." - Michelle Akers on Brandi Chastain
"Has 45 pierced body parts. Has pictures of Slater (from Saved By the Bell) in her locker." - Michelle Akers on Sara Whalen
"We wear heart-rate monitors at times to measure the intensity of the workout and the reaction of the body. TR's heart rate sometimes gets up to 100. That's inhuman. For most people they are either having a heart attack at that point, or gasping for breath with their hands on the knees. Only the elite of the elite athletes get up to 100 without dying. Well, for her, that's a normal occurrence. She can hit it, maintain it for a few seconds, and then keep on performing with little or no recovery time needed. Amazing. Oh to be young again." - Michelle Akers on Tiffany Roberts
"We decided that Joy Fawcett's daughter Katey, who's 4, miight play alongside Aly & Susan someday. Michelle, of course will still be on the team." - Julie Foudy
"Knows the model, make, and year or evey (military) jet or helicopter ever made by the sound of the engine, smell of the jet fuel, or shadow on the ground. PS. Her husband, Christiaan is a Marine pilot." - Michelle Akers on Mia Hamm
"...can eat more than an elephant." - Michelle Akers on Julie Foudy
"She's still overlooked and still so underrated, but the people who are really soccer gurus know that she's a workhorse and someone who plays more minutes and more games than anyone. The thing aobut it is that's fine with her. She knows what she contributes and her team knows how much she contributes, and that's what matters to her. She's on of the most honest, true people I know off the field." - Tisha Venturini about Kristine Lilly
"Looking for the meg!" - Shannon MacMillian on her personality trait that can be troublesome on the field
"Is the damn monkey off?" - Mia Hamm to Julie Foudy after ending her scoring slump
"For all you fans out there, the way to the hearts of the US Women's National Team is through their stomachs... particularly with desserts." - Michelle Akers
"a tiny little gnat running up and down the sidelines." - Julie Foudy on Kristine Lilly when they first played together in 1987
"Joy's SUPERWOMAN" - Julie on Joy Fawcett
"I think she's cool. She has that 'cool' quality for which not many people can qualify. It's more than being nice, or stylish, or charismatic. She's just cool and unique. I also know my brother's friends think she's 'hot.' That cracks me up. Not because I think she is a dog by any means, but because the publice sees my teammates, my buddies - as hot. HA" - Akers on Tisha Venturini
"The thing I love about Millie is you always know where you stand, and she is who she is. What you see is what you get. I love that." - Akers on Tiffeny Milbrett
"Holdes record for biggest shoe size on the team. Big and strong as an ox. Players fall and fly off her like gnats." - Akers on Danielle Fotopoulos
"What stunned me was how well Tracy competed from the first day of practice. She worked herself to death." - Anson Dorrance who says Tracy Ducar may be the most determined player he has ever encountered.
"I'm personally offended when I am scored on" - Brianna Scurry
"I like Kate a lot. I think she's great. Besides being a great soccer player, she's a total nut. She fits in perfectly. She's just a goofball. Kate's always giggling, and giddy." - Julie Foudy on Kate Sobrero
"If you can only play one position, you'd better be the absolute best at that position." - Christie Pearce
"Whatever role is given to you, you'll embrace it, because it is just an honor to be on this team." - Lorrie Fair
"I eat healthy most of the time, but I love chocolate. I can't help it!" - Carla Overbeck
"My dad gets tickled watching me." - Tiffany Roberts
"We didn't even do anything. We just walked into the stadium." - Brandi Chastain on the cheers from the opening ceremonies of the 1996 Olympics
"I told them I was in China winning the world soccer championship. They said, 'Great. Did you study for the chemistry test?'" - Julie Foudy on her return to Stanford after the first WWC
"After practice all I can do is collapse on the couch with a bag of potato chips." - Cindy Parlow
"When I first made the team I didn't even know there was a national team. So to me it was all new. When I got asked to go on the trip to China I was 16. I said, 'well you know what I have to ask my parents.' So I called home and I am like, 'Mom and Dad can I go to China?' They were like 'sure.'" - Kristine Lilly
"If you are quiet on the bench you will just get swallowed up. It is like a mosh pit." - Tisha Venturini - who was considered the bench captain
Crowds waiting in line at Ebbets Field, Brooklyn for World Series Game, October 6, 1920. Photographic print by Bain News Service, October 6, 1920. (Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division. Reproduction number: LC-USZ62-92826 (b&w))
