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Making An Impact
A Decade On, Brandi's Still Making An Impact
by Jeremy Ruane
Mention Brandi Chastain's name, and thoughts instantly turn to that indelible image which took the world by storm and made such a massive statement for women's sport in general, and women's football in particular, a decade ago.
You know the one - Brandi peeling off her treasured Team USA #6 shirt to reveal her tanned, toned, sports bra-clad torso as she celebrated scoring the winning penalty in the 1999 FIFA Women's World Cup Final shoot-out against China.
That moment spoke volumes about the character of a young woman who has experienced more ups and downs than most during her forty years on Earth, and is someone from whom we can all learn and cannot help but be captivated by, such is her infectiously positive nature.
“I love living”, is how she describes it. “Both my parents died very early, in their mid-fifties, due to unexpected situations.
“I knew before, but it was re-enforced when they passed, that every day is a gift, and that if you don't do something good, then you've wasted your day. So every day, you have a choice of what you can do, and I really am interested in making some kind of impact on some level every day”.
She certainly does that, be it as the mother of her two-year-old son, Jaden, or as the wife of Jerry Smith, head coach of the Santa Clara University women's soccer programme for the past twenty-one years.
That desire to “wake up and make a difference - be better every day than I was the last” is not confined to her family, however. It spreads to the dozens of young women who are bidding to follow in her footsteps and perhaps score the winning goal in a Women's World Cup Final themselves some day.
“I run a non-profit for girls third grade through fifth grade, teaching them the importance of sport in their life and how they can be in charge of their health and wellness, and their self-confidence and self-esteem”.
Many of the life lessons they are learning from this footballing legend are sourced from the many memorable moments Brandi has savoured throughout her career. While they are too numerous to mention, the San Jose native doesn't hesitate in naming the five events which have made the biggest impact on her life.
“Initially making the USA team in 1988. Then, going to the first-ever Women's World Cup in 1991. Five years on, standing in the Olympic Stadium in Athens, Georgia, with the gold medal around my neck alongside my best friends.
“The development and growth of women's soccer in
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 Brandi Chastain addressing the audience at the FIFA Com-Unity course
 What a collection of footballing talent, skill and knowledge around this table!! From left to right:
Priscilla Duncan
Doris Fitschen
Michele Cox
Brandi Chastain
Maia Jackman
Marlies Oostdam
Rebecca Sowden
Heike Ullrich (Head of German Women's Football)
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my country and around the world is one of the most important of all, as is knowing that what I do today, that everything I've learned about life I learned on the soccer field”.
Those lessons were learnt alongside her many team-mates, the likes of fellow superstars Michelle Akers, Mia Hamm, Kristine Lilly and Julie Foudy, and it's her team-mates who Brandi most misses when reflecting on her playing days.
“It's those memories you have of each other. The eye contact you make while you're on the field. Knowing that somebody else sees and feels exactly how you do at that moment. The camaraderie and spirit of being on the training pitch and playing in the games. You can't find it anywhere else”.
July 10, 2009 will mark the tenth anniversary of the final of the women's sporting event which has had such an impact on soccer in particular that, ten years on, the code is still reverberating from its shockwaves.
Indeed, as recently as October, we saw New Zealand host the inaugural FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup Finals, an event which wouldn't have come about but for the success of USA `99.
One wonders how many of the players who graced our shores throughout that tournament were initially inspired to play the game by the sight of Brandi and company on their television sets a decade ago ...
“The level of women's soccer has improved greatly since then”, reflects one of the game's true greats, “and I'm greatly impressed with the technical level of the players today.
“That's one of the three most significant changes in the women's game which has come about since I began my career. Another is the involvement in women's soccer by FIFA and the numerous associations and federations around the world.
“And the fact there will be more than one professional league available for players to choose from if they want to be a professional. That situation didn't exist when I was growing up”.
Is that a hint of regret? “Every generation is envious of the next because things always change and grow, or at least they should. For me, there's still a place in the game, so I have to find that.
“And I have to be as enthusiastic and as excited and invested in the good of the game on the level that I can be involved with”, attributes from which women's soccer will benefit for some time to come, given Brandi Chastain's love of life, and her willingness to “wake up and make a difference” every day.
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