Suddenly, the phone rings and Hamm excuses herself. It's
her husband Christian Corey, concerned he can't leave the base in time to take her to
the airport. Even though he's finished for the day, his group must stay on base while
it is secured. It could take 30 minutes or it could take three hours. He apologizes
and promises to call back if anything changes.
Hamm began her career with Anson Dorrance and the national team in 1987 at the tender age of 15. Her natural talent eventually earned her a spot on Dorrance's college team at the University of North Carolina. Her complete dominance in the college game prompted Dorrance to declare her junior season, "The greatest season ever by a collegiate soccer player."
During that year, 1992, she set the NCAA record for single-season scoring with 97 points. Before she was through however, Hamm would go on to net a total of 103 goals, more than any other player in Division 1 history. Her unselfishness on the field also makes her the all-time leader in assists with 72, bringing her total point production to 278.
Hamm sat out the 1991 college season in order to focus on the first Womens' World Championships. During that time she worked for Eurosport as a customer service representative taking orders over the phones. Her wry sense of humor and her comical impressions of Saturday Night Live characters made her a popular co-worker.
When kids called up to get information about the national team she would always answer their questions thoughtfully. Sometimes they became curious. "How come you know so much about the national team?" Sometimes she'd say she had friends on the team, sometimes she'd reveal her identity. One young boy couldn't be convinced he was actually speaking to Hamm. "You're not really Mia Hamm!" he declared in disbelief.
On December 17th, 1994, the real Mia Hamm got married. Though she and her husband are very happy, their individual commitments haven't allowed them to spend a lot of time together. With a note of fatigue in her voice she explains, "I got married and then moved down to Florida to train with the national team, so I've been in and out ever since. I just got back from Sweden, then I did a camp for a week. But now he's working, so he's gone during the day."
His work is surviving basic training with the Marine corps. When Christian completes "basic," the couple will move to Pensacola, Florida where he will attend flight school for a year and a half. Upon successfully completing the flight school, Christian hopes to begin flying F-18's out of Kingsville, TX. "I want what's best for him," says Hamm, "and if that's what he wants to do then that's where we'll end up."
Hamm's next stop is the US Womens' Cup, that is if she gets to the airport on time. Again the phone rings. "Don't worry about it," she consoles Corey. "I understand. That's just how the military works."
As her departure time draws closer, we offer her a ride to National Airport. In stand-still traffic, Hamm talked about how glad she was having her family come to the US Cup. They couldn't make it to Sweden. She also talked about cars she'd like to own, although an endorsement contract with Nike allows Hamm to live comfortably and focus all her attention on training and performance. Arriving at the airport with seconds to spare, she gives us each a hug and thanks us for the lift. Slinging her bag over her shoulder she shouts, "Tell everybody I said 'Hi'," and turns to join the human stampede.
Hamm is known throughout the world as one of the deadliest soccer players going. Her marvelous record speaks for itself. But Hamm the person is a lesser known quantity. To us she is a good friend and we were more than happy to help her out. It was our patriotic duty. Besides, the outcome of the US Women's Cup may have depended on it.
