Not that long ago, a little girl who wanted to be a professionalathlete when she grew up was greeted with the same sort of indulgentchuckle as a kid who says she wants to be a banana when she growsup.
Only boys became professional athletes, no matter how promisinggirls were. Parents, hoping girls would outgrow such tomboy ways,discouraged these dreams.
Then the country started to evolve. Billie Jean King stood up tothe system. Title IX happened, and schools were federally mandatedto fund sports for girls.
And the girls who would grow up to capture the world's attentionas the U.S. Women's Soccer Team were born. HBO tells the story ofthis captivating team in 'Dare to Dream: The Story of the U.S.Women's Soccer Team' at 8 tonight.
This terrific film has the hallmark of a great story. You'rehooked from the beginning even though you know the ending. This is asports documentary for those who watch neither. It's about hope andbeating the odds, and it taps into the feelings of pride andpatriotism that fill fans as they chant 'U.S.A.' during theOlympics.
The film traces the team over 18 years from its inception toworld domination. Usually when that term is used, a fascist isplotting; this time, it's sports history.
The film ends, logically, with their last game together. Thedocumentary relies on home movies, footage from acclaimed games andinterviews with the five women who were the core of the team. Itshows how they broke the barrier by attracting an internationalfollowing among men and women.
The five who played together on the U.S. national team -- MiaHamm, Julie Foudy, Brandi Chastain, Kristine Lilly and Joy Fawcett -- had no role models but would become heroes for younger athletes.
'I wanted to be a football player,' Chastain says in the film.
Today, every girl who laces up cleats and strides onto a soccerfield as if it is her birthright has this team to thank. These womenjust wanted to play and in doing so became the best. Fame followed,but it took a while to catch up with how they were tearing up thefield.
'I didn't even know there was a woman's team until I got there,'Fawcett says.
Neither did the rest of the world.
When the team started, Mia Hamm, who was to become its brighteststar, was only 15.
They played for $10 a day and traveled third class. Games drew acouple of hundred people, mostly family and friends. The turningpoint came in 1991 in China, where the first women's soccertournament, the M&Ms Cup, was held. The huge event marked the firsttime a United States team played for a world cup. It won.
Singing 'We Are the Champions' on a bus is among the sweethighlights in the film. They travel 52 hours to return home (thirdclass from Asia) and hope for cheering hordes. Instead, three fansawait.
That changes within five years as they take the Olympics inAtlanta and gain legions of fans. Though now professional athletes,the women dared again, this time by demanding more money to bringthem into line with the men.
By 1999, trouncing other teams for the World Cup, the team hadthe sort of fans who wait in the rain.
'The response we are getting from girls themselves or mothers orwomen in general about the inspiration they found in us wasempowering,' Hamm says from her home in Texas. 'Because soccer issuch a male-dominated sport, whatever they (the men) did, they feltwas better than anyone else. But we felt we had different standards.We should be the pioneers.'
Hamm sees corollaries between life and soccer. 'It is all aboutthese different personalities and strengths, and that's what life isabout,' she says. 'No way can every NBA player be Michael Jordan.It's not going to happen. What are your strengths and gifts, andwhat sets you apart? Embrace those and celebrate them.'
As they grew famous, it dawned on them that they were at thecenter of a revolution.
'The message is anything really is possible as long as you havethe courage to dream it and will dare to dream it,' Foudy says. 'Andat the same time, you will hear laughter throughout the documentarybecause we were about having fun. There was a balance. We loved whatwe did and we refused to believe that we couldn't achieve more. Whydoes the sky have to be the limit?'
On the cover: U.S. Women's Soccer Team member Mia Hamm
