Olympic soccer hero Brandi Chastain visits Wallingford
By Joe Morelli, New Haven Register, Conn. | |
McClatchy-Tribune Information Services |
The date was
Even those who weren't watching that day are familiar with Chastain, not only for making the kick to beat
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"It doesn't seem like 15 years. It's amazing how fast time flies," said Chastain, who was at
Chastain, now 46, is part of Liberty Mutual's U.S. Olympic and Paralympic sponsorship as the countdown to the 2016 Olympic Games in
Chastain shared her 2004 medal, as well as her soccer experiences with famous former teammates like
"This is a group of people who shared their life experiences; it wasn't just playing soccer together," Chastain said. "It was graduating college, it was getting married, it was having children, it was divorcing, it was parents dying; all the things you experience with your family. Coming together, it was the same laughs, the same gags, the same stuff you were enjoying together when you were playing. It all just resurfaced immediately."
While Chastain, who plays for the California Storm of the
"We virtually carried the torch for women's soccer, and women's sports too," Chastain said. "The timing was right. We were very fortunate to have been born in years we were able to gravitate toward a game and ended up together. Some of it was purely luck, but a lot of hard work."
Chastain coaches her youngest son's team and also helps out her husband (also her former college coach),
And while soccer may not be as popular in
"The likelihood that women's soccer will really grab hold is right around the corner. The connection between the MLS and WSL is near and I honestly believe together we have a chance of making a huge impact with soccer," Chastain said. "With my 8-year-old, now (soccer) is a choice. Kids are now choosing soccer. We are way, way farther down the road than when I was growing up."
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