"WE DID IT WE DID IT!"

Thanks to everybody for their tremendous support through the entire Women's World Cup. And I mean everybody, those that bought tickets to see us play across the country, those that sent messages, and the 40 million that watched us on TV.

You guys are AWESOME!

IN THE MEANTIME......

WOW! I can't believe the response to my June column. In it, I promised the person who, in my opinion, sent in the best question would “WIN THE SHIRT OFF BACK” from our World Cup game against Denmark.

This was so popular with everybody, I am going to do it AGAIN. This time you can win NIKE National Team shirt that I wore in the game against Nigeria. Hey, I even scored a couple of goals wearing it. I will autograph,and authenticate it with game and date.

Like before, all you have to do is go to http://www.aboutsoccer.com/michelle_feedback.htm and ask me a question. This question can be about soccer, my career, or my personal life. The winner will be the person, who in my opinion, submits the best question. I will take into account your age so that everybody has a chance to win.

Last month I received questions on all sorts of topics ranging from injuries, how I got started, to my Religious beliefs. But one area of concern for many is the topic of motivation.

AND THE WINNER IS.....

15-year-old Steph Johnson from West Chester, Pa. Her question is: “How do you motivate your team when they are having bad days, or have bad attitudes toward playing a game? I'm looking for ways to pump up my team.

Also, where do you find your strength to overcome CFIDS, when it seems nearly impossible to overcome? I've read a lot about you, and the disease,and I think that it is amazing that you still play.”

Well, Steph, it’s important to know when to be supportive of someone and when to push them. Everyone is different and need different motivational approaches. It’s also important to be encouraging all the time. Think about what you need to hear when you are having a bad day, and that’s probably what your teammates need, too.

I've committed my body to this sport. My friends tease me that they are going to buy me a wheelchair on my 50th birthday. But it's been worth it because my goal is not only to be the best player and be on the best team, but also to make a difference in people's lives. And I've been able to do that. I think every time I step on the field I have an opportunity to make an impact on someone. I get lots of letters from parents and kids that want to know about me.

THE OTHER ROAD TO THE WORLD CUP

On June 24th we played Nigeria, in Chicago. We arrived at Soldier Field by police escort . . . and thank God for that because the traffic was horrendous coming from Downers Grove to the stadium. The cars were packed in like sardines on the freeway, so the cops were bleeping their sirens and waving people over in order to make room for our bus. It was hilarious to watch the faces of both the oncoming traffic (craning their necks to get a quick peek at us) and the cars in front of us that had been forced over to let us pass. Some were curious with facial expressions asking "who are these chicks and why are they so special?" Lots were waving, cheering, or holding up a number one sign as we cheered and waved back at them in response. One guy, however, was not too excited about us or our very cool police escort. As the cops booted him out of our lane and over to the side, he yelled at us and then flipped us off. Apparently, he was not a big fan or happy camper about our little entourage to the game. Ha.

Once we got into the locker room, I did the usual pre-game routine. Got my shoes, socks, shin guards, wristbands, etc. on, drank my usual cup of Joe (strong black Starbucks coffee) to get my blood pressure up (one small element in combating my low blood pressure disorder called NMH) along with tons of water, listened to my usual music (dc Talk rocks).

The following will answer Patricia Payne’s (from Whittier, Calif.) question about what is written on the sports tape around my ankles. Every game I have a sock tape sock tape dedication. This game was dedicated to my little brother, Mike, as a birthday present. I wrote HAPPY B-DAY on the front, and BIG MIKE on the back. He is now officially 'one old dude' at the ripe old age of 31.

Other times, I have put different bible verses on my sock tape.

After all our preparation meetings and other pre-game rituals, we had our usual locker room warm up. Yes, warm up in the locker room-again. To say the least, I am still annoyed at this. World class athletes forced to warm up for their world championship competition in the locker room. What is up with that? To me that would be like telling swimmer Mark Spitz to warm up in the bath tub before his big race in the Olympics. Nuts.

Anyway,thankfully, we got onto the field earlier than expected and had the chance to get a pretty good warm up in before the kick off. Once the whistle blew we instantaneously were transformed into a bunch of bungling idiots. We stumbled around, gave away the ball, collided with each other, chased frantically, and in general, lost control of our bodily functions and brain power. In contrast to our nightmare beginning, the Nigerians came out on fire and scored in the first two minutes to put them up 1-0. Thankfully, we have enough veteran seasoning to know a game is 90-minute ordeal and although, it wasn't the ideal start, we had another 88 minutes to rectify the situation. As we dug the ball out of the net, we collectively took a deep breath and set the to the task of getting on the score board. It didn't take long. We immediately rallied to score a bunch goals (an own goal, another blast from Mia, Tiff Milbrett special, a header from me, and a ton of others that as usual, I can't remember for the life of me) which brought us in the clear for a seemingly easy win.

Notice I said seemingly. Scoring was not our only challenge in this game. If you saw the game, you undoubtedly witnessed one of the most brutal games of my and the teams' 14-year National Team history. The Nigerians were not only extremely fast, quick, and built like brick houses, but ferocious in their tackling. The most vicious Nigerian tackling attempt occurred in the first half with Foudy as the bull's eye target. Foudy was running toward the sidelines after the ball with her back to the field and the girl took a 10 yard run at her and jumped (yes, jumped) cleats up in an attempt to not only kill every living thing in her path, but the ball and Foudy as well.

Fortunately, Foudy hesitated a step (she must have felt the breeze of the attack) and the girl went flying past her out of bounds and nearly into the sign-age lining the field. Unbelievably, the Swiss ref for this game (who seemed to be taking the renowned neutrality of the Swiss to an extreme in this particular match) only handed out a few yellow cards and lots of verbal 'play ons' in response to the Nigerian play. The fact we were able to hold our composure and play above these kind of tactics was a tribute to the mentality and experience of our team. Ice, baby, ice.

I came out at the half to preserve my 'gas tank'. I will never forget re-entering the stadium in the midst of the second half. I stayed in the locker room to get stretched and iced, so when I finally got back on the field, the second half had already begun. As I walked along the field to the bench, the crowd stood up in each section and clapped and cheered for me.

Now, I don't know if it was because I was so spent physically or my emotions are on edge from the WC excitement, but the gesture almost made me cry. It was a snapshot and memory I will forever have in my head (and heart). Very nice.

Over all the game was a great success for us. We won the game 7-1, incurred no injuries (a miracle), and we did it all in front of an electric and extremely appreciative crowd. I do have to say the Soldier Field crowd was AWESOME. It was smaller than the Giants Stadium crowd, but the enthusiasm and vibrancy at this venue brought our fan support to a whole new level. There were banners, Foudy face cut outs (hilarious), American flags, painted and smiling faces, colorful clothing, and an overflow of cheering, yelling, screaming, and hollering. If noise was liquid, it would have been spilling out over the stadium walls and into the streets of Chicago. It really was incredible. Thank you Chicago.

Our post game reception was the usual. We showered up and rushed to meet our families and friends at the US Soccer House (HQ for the US Soccer Federation). The ride home was shorter than the ride in (no traffic at midnight), and our police escort did a fine job of bringing us back to our hotel safe and sound. By the time I got to my room, packed for the trip to Boston, it was past 1 in the morning. Another long, but definitely a gratifyingly sweet day.

Don't forget to send me a question http://www.aboutsoccer.com/michelle_feedback.htm. You never know you may be lucky like Steph Johnson and win my shirt.

Rock on, USA.

FOOTNOTES.