Women's world cup

[maniacmarshall]

Take your pick, and feel free to inset it into my beloved Cardinals. :(

Honestly, though we've played like total crap this week, often self destructing in games we coulda/shoulda won, I stand by what I said earlier. I love this team, and am damn proud of their effort.

Meanwhile, there was good news on the world cup front, as team USA beat Sweden in a game that was pretty close to a must win. Even though my favorite players (Michelle Akers and Carla Werden-Overbeck) have retired, I still love team USA.

I know you are probably wondering wtf, why do I care about women's soccer.

Well, it might have something to do with the fact that I coached girls soccer for many years, starting when I was in high school, and continuing for a few years after I finished college. I even ended up being an assistant on a high school team my last year in college. Yeah, I coached a boys team for a few years too, but the girl's team was my passion, primarily because they listened and wanted to do what was best for the TEAM, even if it wasn't always the most glorious role for them personally. I really got attached to some of those girls.

I know it sounds kind of odd, but I learned a lot about girls and women during that period. I'm not afraid to admit that, other than being the sweeper on the high school soccer team, I was the prototypical "total loser" in high school. Never had a date, never had a clue about women really... then, suddenly, I had some girls who were 6 years younger than were like sisters to me, and even a few that told me that they had a crush on me... (It's really funny to think that two of those "kids", who told me they had a crush on me, but were obviously too young at the time are older than my gf...) it was weird.

Those girls might have been between 10 and 14, but they taught me a lot. While I tried to teach them everything I knew about soccer, they taught me a lot about life and how women think. I always wanted a sister when I was a kid, and sometimes it seemed like I had about 20 of them heh.

I still remember when the US won the first women's world cup. Heck, I have it on tape from the old sports channel Chicago (which would go on to become fox sports Chicago, then, later, Comcast). I remember showing it to the girls after an indoor game one night, and how inspired they seemed to be by it.

Gary, John, and I built a really great team over the years, one that was ranked top 10 in the state, and I'll never forget some of those girls. I still have all the team pictures, and I look at them often and wonder how they are doing now. Of course, I've lost touch with most of them over the years (*Waves at Jill*. At least I haven't lost touch with one of the coolest ones). Once again, it's yet another group that I've managed to lose touch with over the years...

Of course, I DID follow the soccer careers of some of them. My goalie still holds the record for shutouts at her high school (17), and my best forward holds the record or assists (she hurt her knee they year after I quit coaching, and became more of an assists person than a scorer) A lot of those girls would go on to be all area/all state high school players. Several would go on to get full scholarships to college. It was a magical time in my life, because it was a time when I felt like I actually mattered. I hated when it had to end, but, like all things, it did have to end.

So now its sixteen years later, and it's time for the 5th world cup... where do the years go? I still have all those old team rosters... I know it's a long shot, but maybe I should try to call some of them (what do you think Jill?) or maybe not. Maybe some things are just best left as memories...