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Shy Mia Scoring goals is the easy part for WUSA's Hamm
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Mia Hamm's shyness is getting a major league test. Yes, she is the most famous female soccer player in the world. Yes, a huge poster of her scoring a goal, fist raised in celebration, now drapes the exterior of RFK Stadium. Yes, it is her name and marketability that will help determine whether her new team, the Washington Freedom, succeeds or fails. But that doesn't make giving a speech, or giving an interview, any easier. "I call it Mia Hamm's burden," said John Hendricks, chairman of the WUSA, which debuts Saturday when the Freedom play the Bay Area CyberRays at RFK Stadium (2 p.m. on TNT). "But she's taken up that burden, I think, quite well. Some of us are naturally shy. Mia loves to play the sport. That's her favorite place in the world to be, out on the field in competition. But she knows the visibility of the founding players is critical to this league." When Hamm is playing for the U.S. national team at the World Cup or the Olympics, she can always defer some attention to camera-friendly naturals such as Brandi Chastain or Julie Foudy. But the World Cup heroes are spread throughout the eight-team WUSA, and Hamm has been essentially the lone star in Washington. Her reputation precedes her. She doesn't play the soundbite game, and she can seem an ocean away when speaking to reporters. After a recent exhibition game at the University of Maryland, her green eyes darted this way and that as she fielded questions, as if she'd rather be anywhere else. Then, for perhaps the 100th time in the past month, she was asked whether she can overcome her aversion to the spotlight and do whatever is necessary to promote the new league. It's a remarkable question considering she has worked tirelessly to promote her sport in general over the last decade. Obviously tired of the question, Hamm answered as modestly as she could. "The best way I can promote a game is by what I do on the field, for my team," Hamm said. "That's the most important thing." But there's obviously more, and there has been more: a rally at Union Station, an appearance on a morning news show, autograph sessions and visits to hospitals. Hamm has turned down many requests, but it would be hard to question her effort. "I have to be able to monitor how much I do," Hamm said. "It's important I do that. You do what you have to do, and you do what you can do. I have to be professional enough to know I need to step back and say, 'You know what? I need my own time. I'm tired.'" As Hamm spoke, scores of teen-age girls were screaming and chanting her name, waiting for her to walk to the fence to sign autographs. The posters, commercials, hospital visits and other promotions are working: More than 2,000 fans paid to watch the exhibition game against the Terrapins, more than some skeptics said the league would draw for regular season games. "A lot of times when I'm out there I don't hear it," said Hamm, referring to the chants. "And that's probably good." Hamm said she hopes that by the end of the season the fans will be chanting her teammates' names: Krista, Skylar, Amanda, Tracy and others. "Those are the stories that you want to hear about," said Hamm, again deflecting the attention toward someone else, "the ones who have been grinding it out or are just out of college." With that, the interview is over, and Hamm heads toward the screaming fans and starts signing her name. Hamm's shyness is often mistaken for snobbishness, but her teammates from the national team are quick to set the record straight. Hamm is intense, competitive and very self-critical, but she's also an ultimate team player who will not let the league down. "She is a superstar, and there's nothing wrong with that," said Tiffeny Milbrett of the New York Power. "I think I would be upset if Mia herself didn't realize we were out there, but she's not like that at all."
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