Mia Hamm calls it “the longest 11 minutes of my life.”
Was she referring to the penalty shootout in the 1999 Women’s World Cup final that saw the U.S. ultimately prevail over China? Nope. How about closing out the 2004 Olympic gold-medal match against Brazil? Uh-uh. Rather, it was the 11 minutes — give or take — she played as a goalkeeper against Denmark at the 1995 Women’s World Cup.
Imagine Wayne Gretzky donning a mask and pads in the Stanley Cup playoffs. Or women’s hockey legends Hayley Wickenheiser or Cammi Granato doing the same in the Winter Olympics. Or how about Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo putting on a keeper jersey and gloves at the men’s World Cup? No chance. In 1995, Hamm wasn’t the household name she would become four years later at the 1999 World Cup, but she did have a World Cup winner’s medal and the first of four consecutive U.S. Soccer Female Athlete of the Year awards to her name already….
