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July 17, 2002
"Center Circle"
July 17, 2002
Volume II, Issue 7
Table of Contents
In this post-World Cup issue of 2002 of U.S. Soccer's monthly fan newsletter / e-zine, you’ll find the eight items listed below. Some will return next month, others will be all new for August.
1) Armchair Midfielder (Lasting Images of Korea/Japan 2002)
2) Word Association (w/ WNT midfielder Lorrie Fair)
3) Reyna Reminisces (w/ MNT midfielder Claudio Reyna)
4) Queries and Anecdotes (w/ WNT/U-21 WNT defender Cat Reddick)
5) The Long Road Back (w/ U-21 WNT defender Nandi Pryce)
6) Superstar!! (w/ MNT defender Tony Sanneh)
7) Mark That Calendar (U.S. WNT vs. Norway -- July 21, 1 p.m. ET, ESPN)
8) "You Don't Know Jack (Marshall)" (NEW World Cup trivia)
1) ARMCHAIR MIDFIELDER (Lasting Images of Korea/Japan 2002)
A monthly column about the State of U.S. Soccer that takes a hard look at everything from the performance of the U.S. National Teams to pro soccer in the good 'ol U-S-of-A . If you're looking for a viewpoint that you won't see in a generic, nuts-and-bolts U.S. Soccer press release, you've come to the right place. This month, the Armchair Midfielder will look back at the many lasting images the USA's 2002 World Cup experience and other scenes from Korea/Japan, broken down British-style into: the Brilliant, the Bad and the Bloody Awful.
THE BRILLIANT: 1) "The Sea of Red": Whenever the Koreans stepped onto the field, they were automatically lifted to a higher plane by the endless cheering and undying support of their intense, kimchi-lovin' fans. Even when they presented a significant psychological obstacle to our own success when we met in Daegu, it was a thing of beauty when the cameras spanned the stands behind the action to see what World Cup excitement is all about. If there’s an award for World’s Greatest Fans, the Koreans would easily take the title over the likes of Green Bay’s Cheeseheads, Chicago Cubs’ Bleacher Bums, or the cowbell-ringin’folks from the Sacramento Kings. Along with the fostering of their new national obsession, the team's new-found glory and their surprising -- but absolutely deserved -- run into the semi-finals proved to be one of the better stories of the World Cup. Continue: /articles/viewArticle.jsp_19238.html
"BEHIND CLOSED DOORS"
A section that will let you get to know the real personalities of your favorite Men's, Women's and Youth National Team players through various funny and unique first-person accounts. In this issue, you'll find:
2) WORD ASSOCIATION (w/ WNT midfielder Lorrie Fair)
Lorrie Fair may or may not need some sort of therapy. Regardless, with 25 prompts on topics both easy and tough, we play psychiatrist to get a candid look inside the mind of the versatile 23-year-old U.S. Women's National Team defender/midfielder.
Prompt ::: Response
California ::: Sunshine
Chapel hill, the city ::: A southern slice of heaven
UNC ::: Time of my life
(UNC basketball coach) Matt Doherty ::: Needs another M.J.
Philadelphia, the city ::: Great American city
Continue: /articles/viewArticle.jsp_19237.html
3) REYNA REMINISCES (w/ MNT midfielder Claudio Reyna)
In 1994, he was the youngest member of the U.S. World Cup Team and didn't get a chance to play due to a hamstring injury. Four years later in France, he had to carry the burden of the team's success at just 24 years old and had a tournament he'd just as soon forget. But in Korea/Japan, he put together a terrific performance in which he showed the world the player we've all known he can be. Now a three-time World Cup veteran at the age of 28 (he turns 29 on July 20), who better than veteran U.S. midfielder and captain Claudio Reyna to recall his five personal highlights (in chronological order) at the 2002 World Cup.
1) The DMZ: "It was fascinating to me to visit the last place in the world where East meets West in a truly tense situation. We traveled to Camp Bonifas in a Chinook helicopter, which is certainly a unique experience. Led by the base commander, Colonel Miller, we got an amazing tour and a fascinating history lesson. It's the best thing I've ever done on a national team trip outside the field."
Continue: /articles/viewArticle.jsp_19236.html
4) QUERIES AND ANECDOTES (w/ WNT/U-21 WNT defender Cat Reddick)
Off-the-wall Questions and Answers, Queries and Anecdotes from U.S. Under-21 Women's National Team star defender Cat Reddick. Cat Reddick loves futbol AND football. In fact, she hails from SEC country -- Alabama, to be exact -- and has some very strong opinions concerning the pigskin. The rising junior at UNC, who is the only player from Alabama to earn a cap on the full U.S. Women's National Team, shares some of those frank views in this month's edition of Queries and Anecdotes.
Center Circle: Just how big is college football season in the Reddick household?
Cat Reddick: "In a word: huge. Every Saturday, everything stops so we can watch our football teams. We gather around our TV in our living room, unless there are two important games on, then we put one on downstairs and you can choose which game you want to watch. There is no channel surfing on college football Saturday's at the Reddicks. And, if the game happens not to be on TV, we gather around the radio."
Continue: /articles/viewArticle.jsp_19235.html
5) THE LONG ROAD BACK (w/U-21 WNT defender Nandi Pryce)
At 5'10" and with tremendous speed and athleticism, Nandi Pryce is one of the top, young defenders in the world. She was a member of the USA's 2000 Olympic Residency Camp, has eight appearances for the full U.S. Women's National and seven for the U.S. Under-21 WNT. She will be a junior at UCLA this fall, but missed most of her freshman year and half of her sophomore season with a broken leg and the ensuing complications. It's been a long road back for the Casselberry, Fla. native, but when she represents the USA at the Nordic Cup this month (July 22-28) as the Americans try to win the tournament for the fourth consecutive time, it will represent a return to big?time international competition after her severe injury. This is her story of "The Long Road Back."
“I heard it snap.”
I was playing for UCLA against Vanderbilt and I knew something was wrong. I got kicked in my left leg and I went down in heap. I looked at my coach Jillian Ellis on the bench, and I just started yelling. The referee called Jill onto the field and as she was running towards me with the trainers, I screamed at them ‘I broke my leg! I broke my leg!.’ I knew it was broken and thus started a long, long period of rehabilitation.
Continue: /articles/viewArticle.jsp_19234.html
6) SUPERSTAR!!! (w/ MNT defender Tony Sanneh)
A monthly feature about a U.S. Men’s, Women’s or Youth National Team player who demands that bright, shining spotlight. This month, we zoom in on U.S. Men’s National Team defender Tony Sanneh, whose unusual soccer career has taken him all the way from a starring role in the A-League (Division II pro league) to a rumored spot in the English Premier League, which should automatically qualify him for some kind of soccer-themed, feel-good, made-for-TV Disney movie. Tell me you can’t see it: “From the A-League to the Premier League: The Tony Sanneh Story,” starring Denzel Washington as Tony Sanneh, with Danny Aiello as Bruce Arena.
The Big Cat Goes Big Time
Sometimes people just step up. It’s the essence of a true star that, under intense circumstances and the shadows of doubt, one seizes the moment and stands atop the mountain, screaming "Here I am!!!" Tony Sanneh stood up and roared.
Continue: /articles/viewArticle.jsp_19233.html
7) MARK THAT CALENDAR (U.S. WNT vs. Norway -- July 21, 1 p.m. ET, ESPN)
A stern reminder about an upcoming U.S. Soccer-related event, whether you plan to check it out live and in person, on the telly or that wacky world wide web. When the U.S. Women’s National Team takes on Norway on Sunday at the National Sports Center in Blaine, Minn., (live on ESPN at 1 p.m. ET), it will be just the third domestic match for the team in 2002. [Little-known fact: Blaine was the site of the first ever domestic U.S. Women’s National Team match back in July of 1986.] But more than that, it will present a rare opportunity for the USA to face its most challenging rival on home soil, with the last seven meetings between the two teams coming outside the U.S.
Continue: /articles/viewArticle.jsp_19232.html
8) YOU DON’T KNOW JACK (MARSHALL) (NEW World Cup Trivia)
Think you know your U.S. Soccer trivia? Well...try us. We’ll see how far back your knowledge of Team USA and U.S. Soccer extends. And who the heck is Jack Marshall? Even the trivia buffs in the U.S. Soccer Communications Department would be hard pressed to tell you that one Jack Marshall received his one and only cap way back in 1926. Okay, that was pretty much impossible. They get easier. We give you four questions each month, 1 to 4, easy to hard. With Korea/Japan 2002 having come and gone, we now have all new facts and figures to trivialize in a second installment of World Cup-themed questions.
Questions:
Q1 (Difficulty level 1 of 4): Name the only country to win five World Cup titles?
Q2 (2of 4) Who is the only U.S. player to score goals in two different World Cups?
Q3 (3 of 4): Only two countries have won a World Cup outside their own continent. Name them.
Q4 (4 of 4): What is the only country to give up more than 100 total goals in World Cup history?
Continue: /articles/viewArticle.jsp_19226.html
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