Sports Then and Now

Chastain's emotions did a 180 following last week's release by FC Gold

The unbridled show of human emotion following victory has rewarded the world with some of the most indelible images in sports history. As Wide World of Sports so aptly put it decades ago, “the thrill of victory” has provided sports fans with imagery that will remain forever fresh in the scrapbooks of our minds.

Be it Kirk Gibson limping around the bases following his late game heroics in 1988 or Bobby Orr diving across the goal mouth, a la super hero following “The Goal” in the 1970 Stanley Cup Finals, the unrehearsed and unedited show of absolute jubilation following success provides every fan with the forever and ever images that define sports.

There is perhaps no “victory point skyward” more familiar in the world of Women’s professional soccer than the raw show of emotion when soccer legend Brandi Chastain thrust her undergarments to the world following her game-winning penalty kick against China in the 1999 FIFA Women’s World Cup. Read the rest of this entry →

Forward Michelle Enyeart grew up in a small town that isn’t exactly known to be a soccer hotbed.

In fact, Hemet, CA is hardly known at all.

But this small “city” located roughly between Palm Springs and San Diego has produced a name that is known to soccer experts and soccer fans across the country.

Enyeart has a soccer resume that is both extensive and impressive.

Some of the major points in her career include playing with the nationally-ranked Laguna Hills Eclipse Soccer Club, competing with the youth national teams (U-23, U-20, U-19, U-16), and participating in a full national team training camp. Read the rest of this entry →

Though neither Tyra Banks nor Paulina Porizkova were likely within miles of the City of Brotherly Love last week, America’s Top Women’s Soccer players were busy modeling the hot new fashions of PUMA’s 2010 WPS uniform line.

PUMA, the founding sponsor of the WPS, unveiled the 2010 WPS home and away uniforms last week at the Trust Building in Philadelphia. The event, which was hosted by Los Angeles Sol goalkeeper and WPS All-Star Karina LeBlanc, included a high energy fashion show up the green turf runaway and featured the stars of the WPS, plus live break dancers, specialty cocktails and hors d’oeuvres catered by Steven Starr. Read the rest of this entry →

Players from Brazil's National Team including Marta, Cristiane and Fabiana have impacted WPS play.

With the announcement by FIFA naming Brazil’s Marta as their Women’s World Player of the Year for the fourth consecutive year, I hurried to my virtual Rolo-dex in an attempt to try to score a Brazilian perspective on the award.

Amongst the thousands of names which have found their way into my growing list of connections, I didn’t expect to find too many who make the land of Carnival their home since the Brazilian population in my rural town of Winchendon, MA can probably be counted on one hand.

Then I remembered a gentleman I had met at my first WPS Breaker’s game last spring. I tried desperately to jump start my memory to recall his name. After scurrying through every letter from A to R, I came upon the name “Marcus Santos” and knew I had struck pay dirt.

Santos and his band Bloco Afro-Brazil, had entertained the crowd of Breakers fans playing their Brazilian styled beat from the end zone of historic Harvard Stadium. They added a Brazilian flare to the game reminiscent of the World Cup and created an excitement which would become synonymous with Breaker brand soccer as the season went on. Read the rest of this entry →