“The vision of a champion is bent over, drenched in sweat, at the point of exhaustion, when nobody else is looking.”
Mia Hamm, my childhood idol, said this. She should know. She didn’t just say this, she lived it truly. Well, except the part of “nobody looking.”
About 13 years ago, I was at the Boston Breakers vs. Washington Freedom game with my Dad and there were about 8,000 soccer fans who had come to watch the incomparable Mia Hamm. When the final whistle blew I pulled my father down to the pitch side to stand in line for her autograph. After about 15 minutes of signing shirts, posters and pictures for fan‐frenzied 12‐year‐old girls, she was right in front of me. I was next!
That is, until someone from the Freedom staff tapped her on the shoulder and said “Last one ‐ time to go.” I watched my favorite player of all time hop into a cart and drive away, taking my dashed hopes for an autograph with her. Still enthralled, unable to take my eyes away from my idol, I saw the driver hand her a bag. What did she need a brown paper bag for?
