Honoring the OGs!
Long before Pinoe and Alex, there was Tucka and Denise, and 15 others who bravely donned the stars and stripes for the first ever USWNT. While we’re stay up until 3AM to cheer on the current US team playing in the World Cup, we are also wanting to recognize the past and honor how we got to where we are today.
38 years ago 17 women wore hand me down mens jerseys and played to a packed Italian crowd in the Mundalito — FIFA did not sponsor the Women’s World Cup until 1991 and women’s soccer was not yet an Olympic sport, but lack of structural support didn’t hold these athletes back. They came from all parts of the country, some on soccer college scholarships, others playing different college sports because women’s teams had not yet been established at their universities. They all said yes to an opportunity, not knowing what it would lead to, nor the legacy it would establish. Their stories have never been told. Until now.
For the first time ever, the players on this original team are sharing their stories. As the world tunes in to the largest women’s sporting event in history, Flame Bearers is taking a moment to those original trailblazers. This season, co-hosted by FIFA Player of the Century and 1985 player, Michelle Akers, spotlights the original players and uncovers what has happened since. Many discuss needing to get a job, because soccer didn’t pay the bills. Others talk about starting a family. All talk about how soccer has remained at the forefront of their lives, and how they have continued to pass on the love of the game. It
because of them and so many other originals, that the flame has never burned brighter for women in sports.Â
Here’s how they describe their team in their own words.
