Brandi Chastain said yesterday she is "sorry" that her
post-victory celebration on Saturday "turned into something
other than" a traditional celebration when she took off her
team jersey to reveal a Nike sports bra, according to Kenny
Lucas of the N.Y. DAILY NEWS. Chastain, on her celebration:
"If you aren't a soccer traditionalist, you might not know
that is a soccer celebration across the globe. It was
nothing more than that. I don't have a jog-bra deal, and I'm
sorry it turned into something [bigger]." Mia Hamm, when
"pressed on the issue" of Chastain's celebration, asked the
questioner: "How much do you know about soccer? That's
what's going on here. Soccer is so new here we are still
educating people every day. I don't want to call it
ignorance, but it's this newness. They don't know the
technical side of soccer, so they talk about Brandi" (N.Y.
DAILY NEWS, 7/15). In DC, David Segal writes that
Chastain's act "fired the hopes of sports-bra makers
everywhere, who are now betting that [the team's] fans ...
will rush out to buy the undergarments." Nike competitors,
such as Fila and Reebok, "are calculating that Chastain's
act will benefit all players" in the $230M-a-year sports bra
market, and some expect sports bras to become "must-have
accessories for tens of thousands of teenage girls." SGMA
Dir of PR Michael May: "I wouldn't be surprised to see
exponential-type growth." While Nike's logo on Chastain's
bra was "relatively inconspicuous," May said, "Had that
swoosh been more visible that would cause the public to say,
'I want that kind.' But because it was a plain design and
didn't have any noticeable corporate affiliation, I think it
will end up benefiting everybody" (WASHINGTON POST, 7/15).
BABES-A-LICIOUS: In Boston, Adrian Walker writes on the
"Babe" factor of the U.S. women's team: "Sports and sex
appeal have always been linked and always will be. How many
of Michael Jordan's fans were as drawn to his physique as
his basketball?" (BOSTON GLOBE, 7/15).
YOU GOLF GIRL: More than 200 fans gathered yesterday to
watch Chastain, Hamm and Julie Foudy tee off at the LPGA
Tour's Big Apple Classic pro-am. The starter announced that
"he'd never seen that many people" at an 8:30am start time
(USA TODAY, 7/15). In N.Y., Mark Everson writes that Karrie
Webb, the "bright young star of the LPGA, ... sat nearly
ignored on the same podium" as Hamm, Chastain and Foudy at
the event. Webb: "The LPGA does a good job [of marketing
its players], but it needs to do an even better job." Webb
said that women's golf needed more advertising support from
sponsors to become household names: "We need to throw it
back to our major sponsors. Those big companies need to
step forward like [soccer sponsors] did" (N.Y. POST, 7/15).
NOTES: In N.Y., Adam Buckman writes that NBC's "The
Tonight Show" had "lobbied hard" for a U.S. team appearance
following its WWC victory, but the "team members' hearts
belong" to David Letterman. A team spokesperson said, "The
girls feel a sort of bond with him." Briana Scurry, who
will appear on "The Tonight Show" this evening, is the "only
team member scheduled." The entire team will be on the
"Late Show" Tuesday (N.Y. POST, 7/15)....In Raleigh,
Christian Hoyt reports that tickets that went on sale Monday
for the November 21 indoor soccer exhibition match in
Raleigh featuring the U.S. team against the "World All-
Stars" are "almost gone." Ticketmaster said that 1,000 of
the 18,713 tickets remain (Raleigh NEWS & OBSERVER, 7/15).
...ESPN's Jay Bilas interviewed Hamm and Chastain during
last night's WNBA All-Star Game. Chastain wore a WNBA
baseball cap ("All-Star Game," ESPN, 7/14). Sparks C Lisa
Leslie, on WWC team members at MSG: "I thought it was great.
Mia and I are both Nike athletes. It's a great opportunity
what they've done for women's soccer" (FSN, 7/14).
