TRANSCRIPT – 2011 FIFA Women’s World Cup Media Conference Call (July 14, 2011)

JED DRAKE, ESPN Senior Vice President and Executive Producer, Production

JULIE FOUDY, Match Analyst, Women’s World Cup 2011 on ESPN

BRANDI CHASTAIN, Studio Analyst, Women’s World Cup 2011 on ESPN

IAN DARKE, ESPN’s Lead Play-by-Play Commentator, Soccer

THE MODERATOR:  Thanks all members of the media for joining us on this conference call.  We have on the call Mr. Jed Drake, executive producer and senior vice president ESPN.  Jed has been doing this for quite a while and actually following up on an Emmy-award winning men's World Cup last year, here he is with the Women's World Cup.

            We also have Ian Darke, who is our lead voice for soccer.

            We have Julie Foudy, lead analyst for women's soccer.

            We also have Brandi Chastain, who is our lead studio analyst for the Women's World Cup.

            I will open up the call here for brief comments from Jed, Ian, Julie and Brandi.

            Jed.

JED DRAKE:  Good afternoon, everybody.  Thank you for taking time to join us on this call.  We're delighted the event we are covering has captured the imagination of our viewers and, by extension, those of you in the media.

            We are very pleased to be involved in something that has become truly special to our presentation across the board at ESPN.  We had great hopes that we would get to some measure of our success to date, but needless to say we have benefited immensely from the interest in the U.S. team as a result of their remarkable play on the field and the stories that they have provided to us.

            It is a job that is yet to be done.  I remind myself of my conversations last year with many of our announcers, Ian among them, Martin Tyler, that we will read candidly the reviews you provide after the event is over.  Right now we have much work to be done, and our most important work yet to unfold.

            With that we are here in Frankfurt with our group.  Now that Big Blue has come back to Frankfurt to reside for the final, we are all together and ready and poised to do what is a very important job, one that we are giving the greatest emphasis possible in order to finish off the job presented to us.  We're really looking forward to it.

THE MODERATOR:  Thank you, Jed.

Just a quick reminder again, ESPN-2 on Saturday will have the Sweden versus France third-place match at 11 a.m., and Sunday 2 p.m., Japan versus USA, our coverage will begin at that point. Ian?

IAN DARKE:  I'll keep is brief.

            Thank you very much for joining us.  We've covered in the last month nearly three thousand miles on the autobahns of Germany.  I think we've seen the best Women's World Cup so far.  The matches have been close, a lot of them exciting.  The most exciting, of course, of all was the USA - Brazil frantic finale, the miracle of Dresden.  Then there was the mission in Gladbach the other night against France when the U.S. were on the back foot, for a long time in the game didn't look like winning it, but again, typical of this team, they found a way to prevail and are now in the final and are reaching out for a glorious triumph in Frankfurt on Sunday, and we are looking forward to that.

THE MODERATOR:  Julie.

JULIE FOUDY:  Thanks all for joining us.  I just wanted to say what a treat it is for me as the former player, I'm sure Brandi will say the same, to see how this entire World Cup has unfolded back home, which is wonderful, and to be here at the center of it all covering it as well as we have, which I'm tremendously proud of.

            Have enjoyed it immensely, even with Ian shouting out his German phrase book lessons language lessons over the three thousand miles.  I even enjoyed that.  I'm not lying.  It's been great fun to travel this country and see this beautiful place.

THE MODERATOR:  Brandi?

BRANDI CHASTAIN:  Thank you, everybody, for your attention to the Women's World Cup, not only the spectacular play, but the attention to some spectacular individual players.  Seeing hat tricks, side volleys, penalty kicks and the like go into the back of the net for me as a soccer fan has been spectacular.  To cover it in an analytical way has been a wonderful opportunity for myself, Alicia Ferguson, Monica Gonzalez, Briana Scurry, as former players, to put into words as to how these players and coaches may be feeling.

            The greatest challenge is yet to come for us as analysts, and likewise the greatest challenge for the players is the final Japan versus the United States.  I believe this will be one of clash of cultures in terms of the game plan and philosophy.  It will be very interesting to see who prevails, what style.  I'm looking forward to the game with great anticipation.

THE MODERATOR:  Let's open the lines for questions.

Q.  First of all, any added production elements of note for the final this weekend or the third place game, anything you're real excited about it, whether it be ultra slow motions, increased cameras?

JED DRAKE:  The camera complement will go up somewhat for the final.  You'll see spider cam on the matches.  You did on Wednesday.  We'll have aerial coverage to paint the scene in Frankfurt, additional cameras on the pitch.

            One of the things we also recognize is that we've got a very solid production plan that has been deployed throughout this tournament.  You always want to make sure that anytime you're going into an even bigger event that you don't try to overdo it.  I think one of the things that is always a cornerstone that we try to adhere to is staying in the groove that you've set and to be appropriately understated.

            This is not about us.  This is about the two teams that are playing.  With that, we're mindful with the success we've had in terms of our coverage itself, you don't want to go too far afield into areas that might be considered risky or something of that ilk.

            I'd rather have us focus precisely on what we're doing and have been doing.  It's a formula that has worked quite well.  It was a very expansive formula.  But we're in a very good groove and we're very happy where we are.

Q.  Do you have a total camera complement off the top of your head for the final?

JED DRAKE:  Yeah.  It should be 22.  We're working on a bunch of live shots, by the way.  You've seen some of them.  You've seen Afghanistan.  You've seen Times Square.  We are working, needless to say, on a live component out of Japan, even though it will be the middle of the night.

            Let's not forget that the story of this Japanese team is equally remarkable, if not more so, given the struggles that that country has gone through recently.  We are very mindful of that aspect of our coverage, that there are two teams playing.  We need to make sure that that is at the forefront of our coverage.

Q.  Overall, how do you think this production has gone compared to whether it be 2006 in Germany or last year's World Cup and how do you think the mobile studio has worked out over the last couple of weeks?

JED DRAKE:  Compared to 2006, there is no comparison.  This is at a completely different level.  Compared to 2010, it is a different type of production in some respects, those being the change, if you will, from the cultural aspect that we brought to bear in South Africa.  We shifted that now to what Ian and Julie have described in some measure already, which is this wonderful sense of place that we've been able to bring to our viewers throughout the coverage as a result of the mobile set which has been a great success and I think one that has provided these viewpoints and vantage points that really has helped enrich our coverage and make it look that much more special.

            So in terms of actual event coverage, I'm as pleased here as I was in South Africa.  In terms of the mobile set being something that is a completely different production approach, equally pleased.  It's been just great.  It's really worked out well.

            We also have, by the way, I've lost count, but I think we have 12 signatures on Big Blue, as we call it, from U.S. players that have come to be interviewed on the set.  They've adorned it, at our request, and it makes it that much more special.

Q.  Jed, I wonder if you can give me your take on how you think the coverage has been under the context of advocacy for this team and promoting this team versus covering this team and the journalism of this team?

JED DRAKE:  Good question.

            I spoke to a writer the other day about this.  I believe, to a reasonable extent, we have found the right place in terms of that balance that you note in terms of covering the event.  I wouldn't - I know this will show up in the quote - I wouldn't use the term 'advocacy.'  I think it's something less than that.

            At the same time I think it's virtually impossible to have the cast of announcers that we have and not have some measure of pride, if you will, in the job that this team has done for all the reasons that I think America has warmed up to.

            I honestly don't think there's anything wrong with that.  I think we found a balance.  We are not cheerleaders for this team.  But, needless to say, we are pleased when they perform to the extent they have and in the way that they have.

            The stories that we've told have spoken to this never-say-die aspect of this team that has come into fruition.  The fact that it happens to be our national team is something that I think is quite heartening, but at the same time I don't think that we've gone over the edge in terms of being overly patriotic, if you will.  I think we've found the right groove and I think that will carry forward in our coverage on Sunday.

            I'd be curious of what you think of it because I respect your opinion and I'm curious what you think.

Q.  I'm probably writing tomorrow, so I'll save my take.  I want to follow up with Julie.  Julie, along the same lines, has it been difficult for you or how difficult is it for you to separate yourself from words like 'we' and 'our' versus sort of calling the coverage straight?  You obviously have a vested interest in this team for many years and you were an iconic part of it for sure.

JULIE FOUDY:  You know, when I stepped into the booth, when I retired after 2004, that was a bigger challenge, but not anymore.  You want to stay fair to the game.  Everyone knows I played for the team.  There is that in there inherently.  But I want to stay fair to the game.  The last thing you want to come off as is a cheerleader for the United States.

            It's a fine balance of obviously internally I want that team to do well.  A lot of those players I played with.  At the same time, I have to call the game as objectively as I can and kind of step out of that.

Q.  You have all obviously heard about the excitement in the U.S. over the tournament, even though you're in Germany.  I'm curious how Germany's loss affected the vibe about the tournament there and specifically whether that might take away from Sunday in terms of a TV spectacle.  What effect has that loss had on the feeling over there?

IAN DARKE:  Obviously the German supporters wanted Germany to be in the final and expected Germany to be in the final.  They were almost at fever pitch here.  There were 74,000 people watching the opening game.  The TV audience I believe for the very first game was 16 million, which is quite remarkable.

            Obviously there's been an air of deflation since they went out of the tournament to Japan, which was the biggest upset so far.  But I think the crowd for the semifinal in Frankfurt last night was still over 40,000.  There's still plenty going on in the local media about this Women's World Cup.  They're proud to be hosting it.

            It's never quite the same for the host nation when they get eliminated.  Maybe you could say here that sort of Germany's loss is the USA's gain.  The excitement in the USA has gone through the roof, as I understand it, in the last two or three days.

BRANDI CHASTAIN:  I will add that I have recently met up with a friend of mine from Berlin.  We were speaking about this very question.  He said, of course, the German people are upset and there's a lot of talk about women's football, which normally isn't the case, whether that be through the media or just personally at the coffee shop.

            So unfortunately for Germany they are out of the tournament, but there still is a vibe going on in the media and around town talking about the state of women's football, Silvia Neid, Birgit Prinz, the young players that came into this national team and played in this tournament.

            I think that shows that there is interest and there's still a desire to see these players in the future.

IAN DARKE:  One of the German national newspapers yesterday had a big piece about the American people.  Bearing in mind this is a German headline, which had the headline 'America the Beautiful.'  Just thought I'd throw that in (laughter).

Q.  Brandi and Julie, do you see what the USA team is doing turning on the country again like it did in '99, the great push that it gave women's soccer, girl's soccer?  I know being here in San Diego with great local players, it seems to me to be that way.  I wonder what you think, if it will do the same thing?

BRANDI CHASTAIN:  I think the greatest difference between '99 and this 2011 World Cup is strictly the amount of coverage on a personal level and on a magazine, newspaper, television level.  With Twitter and Facebook, it's exponentially shared.  I think really word-of-mouth creates such an amazing buzz.

            With players in communities where they grew up playing definitely see a surge in interest.  I've heard on many blogs or Facebook notes, I've never watched soccer before, I'm watching it for the first time.  A lot of these sentiments are things I heard in '99.  I think they're exponentially being shared between people.

JULIE FOUDY:  I would add that what has amazed me the most is we were playing at home in '99.  We have four years of buildup promoting the event, selling it to the media, getting people excited about it.  That's a much easier feat than the way they've captured the country's imagination here in Germany across the pond and yet have still seemed to grab the country's attention.  Obviously it's because of the way they did it, which I love.

            I think what they did is remarkable.  It's stirring a passion in people about the women's game, debate about whether it will continue, people are being exposed to women's soccer for the first time.  The Japanese team is one of the most fun teams you'll ever watch.  If that's their first exposure to it, that is a great thing.

Q.  I think I saw a quote recently where Hope Solo said this team is tired of being compared to the '99 team.  I was wondering if Brandi and Julie have comments on that.

JULIE FOUDY:  I'd be tired of it, too, if I were them.  That's all they've heard for 12 years.  It's understandable.  What I think you hear from all of them, we just want to forge our own identity, which you can understand.

            That's what I love about this moment, here is a moment that the country can embrace this team and wrap their arms around this team.  They are the ones.  It wasn't from someone else.  It wasn't from another time.  It's them who did it.  They've given this country such a reason to love them.

            You can't do it much better than that.  In the 122nd minute, down a player for almost an hour, the way they did it with penalty kicks, the way they did it with France, you couldn't have scripted this better for them.      

BRANDI CHASTAIN:  I'll agree with Julie, but I'll also say whether they like it or not, whether they are tired of hearing it or not, we are one team, as being part of U.S. soccer.  Nobody will ever take this moment away from the team that's playing, and nobody will be able to take Julie Foudy out of U.S. soccer history books.

            We're all striving towards the same goal, which is to make women's soccer, not only in the U.S. but in the world, popular, and to expose the world to Japan, the U.S., Germany, Brazil, the special stories you get to see on and off the pitch with the players.

            At times I believe when I hear, We're tired of it, it is a little disheartening for me personally because once a part of U.S. soccer, you're always a part of it.  We're all building hopefully to make U.S. soccer better, to make the game better, and to grow the sport in a way that it deserves to be shown, as ESPN is showing it this summer, and even greater in the future.

Q.  Julie and Brandi, not to compare the teams, but is there a similarity between this team and your team?  How much do you find yourself reliving or appreciating your own moment when you can step back and look at it from the outside with what these girls are doing?

BRANDI CHASTAIN:  I'm going to say from a personal note, having Julie and Mia and Bri and Tony present for this World Cup, sitting down together, reliving stories, laughing, is what I feel is so special about the experience we had.  We can always come back together and relive the moments.

            This is what these players will be able to do when they're 10 years, 20 years down the line looking back on Germany in the summer of 2011.  It will be a very special time in their lives.

            I love the fact that they're going to say, We did that, that they owned this time.  That's very, very precious.

Q.  Julie and Ian, I'm getting a tremendous amount of wonderful emails from readers about the chemistry that you have as broadcasters, how they enjoy listening to the both of you work together.  One side-bar, they also love all of Ian's wonderful British sayings.  If you could speak to your chemistry and also, Ian, how you weave your sayings into the broadcasts again.

JULIE FOUDY:  Worried in Wolfsburg.  I think it was the 'Worried in Wolfsburg', I think I turned to him and said, I love you.

            I have been having a ball with Mr. Darke.  I think it helps when you have to travel and traverse this country.  As we said at the beginning, we've gone about 3,000 miles together on a bus.  If you don't like each other, you're in deep trouble.

            I mean, you couldn't work with a more class professional, wonderful announcer as Ian.  So my job is simple because he's so good at what he does.  He's so good with how it comes off, his timing, his understanding of the game, the flow, all of those things.

            It's been really an honor to get this time with him and work beside him.

IAN DARKE:  I'll give Julie the $10 later (laughter).

            No, it is a bit of a mutual admiration society.  The truth is that Julie and I have never actually called a game together until about three months ago when we called a game between the USA and England women in a dingy little ground in East London called Leyton Orient, where it was a bit of a shock for the U.S. team, one of the few they've had along the way.

            It's been an absolute privilege and pleasure working with Julie.  I looked up her record when I first started to work with her and saw she won 272 caps or made that many appearances for the United States, which is quite astonishing.

            One story we're trying to get onto the air, which she hasn't yet revealed, she told me the other night when she first got the call to play for the United States when she was 16, she told the coach she wasn't going to play because she was going to summer school.  She wasn't going to China because she was going to summer school (laughter).  Can you believe that?

JULIE FOUDY:  Times have changed.

            The one story we didn't get on the air is in the Brazil game, thank God they didn't have a camera on us, we were wearing the big old headsets, the cans on your ears so you can hear.  I got so excited at one point, I stood up, I lifted my arms up and elbowed him.  Thank got he had these cans on.  He looked at me like, What was that?

IAN DARKE:  I would have gone out for the count had that landed without the headphones being on.  I wouldn't have liked to have played midfield with Julie Foudy, put it that way.

THE MODERATOR:  Jed, do you want to add a few thoughts before you leave about what you've seen before, how you made the decision to pair Ian and Julie, as well as Brandi, up?

JED DRAKE:  Look, with Ian it was really simple.  My gosh, he is one of the most (indiscernible) broadcasters in our business.  We have loved all the things he's brought to our air as much as our viewers have.  He has an enormous understanding of the game, which is fundamental, but he has the ability to be critical at the right times, to be able to bring the most important moments to a dramatic impact, then to step away from the game and let the game be when he feels it is need.

            His judgment in all those different areas is just superb.

            I also am a big fan of the next Ian line when it comes out.  Sometimes it's at a dramatic moment, sometimes it's not.  I remember a line from the Sweden game when he was describing the USA team, he said, They look like a cast of characters in search of a plot.  It put in my mind what was not happening with the USA team at that time.  Those are all the different reasons why we enjoy Ian's work so much on this event and on our soccer coverage in general.

            Julie, God, I mean, if you have two hours, I'll give you a verse on Julie.  She is a unique individual.  Sorry patronize the two of you while we're on the phone together, but she's a unique individual who has a great insight and intellect and is able to see things with a wonderful, keen eye towards what matters most and to bring it to us with a level of thought that makes our coverage that much better.

            We had her on the set here this afternoon taping some pieces for SportsCenter.  It was good to get her back on the set and to be able get her insight in addition to her just being in the commentary booth.  In the end, she's just a delight on the air.

            And Brandi, she's just a firecracker, said with the utmost respect.  She is full of life and vigor and passion.  She channels all of that and delivers some thoughtful insight into what's going on.

            All the way back to Richard's questions, they bring a perspective to what's unfolding that none of us will ever have, having lived through the success this team that we're following has yet to achieve.  I think that qualifies them for a very special place in this event and they have delivered mightily in that regard.

            So, you know, I have highest praise for all of them.  They've done exactly what I hoped they would do and then some.

Q.  Julie, Abby Wambach was a kid back in '04 when she scored that goal in the Olympics.  What was she like then and how have you seen her mature?  What will her legacy be regardless of what happens on Sunday?  And, Brandi, a question about Abby's ability in the air, and how unique is that.

JULIE FOUDY:  How she was in 2004 is exactly how she is now.  I mean, she's always been a player that just wears everything externally.  She's so vocal and fired up and passionate.  I have always loved that about her.

            But going back to her days with the national team, she almost didn't make the national team.  She didn't for a while.  April Hendricks brought her in, said she wasn't fit enough, wasn't that impressed with her.  At that time the WUSA was going on, she was the forward alongside Mia Hamm with the Washington Freedom, and lit it up with the league and got a second chance.

            It amazes me, but there may not have been an Abby Wambach had it not been for that women's professional league back then.

            She reminds me a lot of Michelle Akers.  I see Michelle Akers when I see her play.  Michelle in a similar warrior-like fashion would be on the field diving for things she wouldn't get to.  Didn't matter, she would dive.  She would leave bone chunks out on the field, teeth on the field.  There was nothing Michelle carried off the field.  She just left everything.  It was beautiful to watch and play alongside.  And Abby is the exact same.

            When Brazil scored that second goal against Marta, they showed and ISO on her.  It was her veins popping out of her neck telling her team, We're fine, let's go, we're going to rally this group.  She has really willed this team along and will go down as one of the best players ever to come through this program, obviously one of the best finishers we've ever had, especially in clutch moments as we've seen in this tournament.

BRANDI CHASTAIN:  Well, Julie and I have played together for a long time.  She was reading my mind in talking about Abby Wambach mimicking Michelle Akers.  As you asked the question, that's the first thing that came to my mind.  Michelle Akers was in stature larger and bigger and stronger than the majority if not all of the players that were on the field such as Abby Wambach is.  But she played the game with such grace and great elegance with small touches to match the long ones she needed, the power to strike the ball literally at times through the goalkeeper or with very small, delicate passes to just bypass the midfield.

            But what I think stands out as the greatest gift that they have to match their size is their ability in the air.  The timing and the technique that's necessary to put the ball on goal and do it what seems so easily for them has really been a lifetime in the making.

            I remember hours and hours Michelle would spend on the field trying to perfect each technique.  And I see Abby getting to this point in her career with that same sort of diligence.  And the goal you saw against Brazil, when you watch the replay, as Megan Rapinoe plays the ball, we got such a great angle of the camera on Abby, her eyes never left the ball.  She was never consumed or overwhelmed by the pressure of the other team.  Her vision and her purpose was strictly on that ball.

            To be able to head the ball under the circumstances with that kind of composure and confidence is incredibly unique.

Q.  Julie and Brandi, you guys have experienced and lived through this.  Speak about what the team in general, but maybe Abby and Hope, who seem to be getting a lot of headlines in the U.S., what they might experience when they come back as far as getting calls from David Letterman and marketing people, the overall homecoming excitement they might have to deal with.

BRANDI CHASTAIN:  Julie, you want to compare it to '91?

JULIE FOUDY:  Yeah, right.

            Well, I think the first thing they have to do is finish it off.  America, as we all know, for good or for bad, loves a winner.  So I think they realize they've got another game they've got to get through.  I heard the Christie Rampone bytes and sounds saying the most important thing is not to get caught in the hype but say, Let's finish this off.  So I think they have a really good perspective there.

            It's wonderful that they're given an opportunity to showcase the characters on this team because there are some tremendous characters.  Megan Rapinoe's celebration goal where she caps on the fuzzy mic, busts out, Born in the USA, is typical of her.  You have wonderful personalities.  Abby and Hope, rightfully so, have gotten a lot of the credit, but there are some wonderful role models on this team.  I'm ecstatic about young girls and boys all over the country are getting to meet.

BRANDI CHASTAIN:  I don't think I need to say any more about that.

Q.  Julie, you just mentioned Christie Rampone.  Could you try to share maybe in her leadership role what these days leading up to the game is, what these players are feeling, trying to do on the emotional side to stay focused, particularly as it relates to Christie and her leadership role.

JULIE FOUDY:  Well, she's the only one who's played in a World Cup final, the only one on the team.  That's remarkable, right?  Of those 21, she's the only one who has been here before.

            What she's saying to them, because again now they're getting all the information from home, and now thanks to social media, they're reading all of it, they're understanding the stir they've caused in their country.  For a lot of these players, that's a new experience for them.  So that is incredibly exciting.  So the challenge is not getting carried away in that.

            I think Pia Sundhage strikes the perfect balance is she's always saying, You have to enjoy the moment and celebrate it after each game, but then you clean the slate and go to the next one.  So they know this journey is not done, it's an incredible ride, and what a shame it would be for it to end on Sunday without holding the World Cup.

            But it is a challenge because this is something new to them as well.  Everything I've heard from Christie Rampone and speaking to her as this tournament has progressed is just that:  Let's take it one game at a time and finish this off.  That's where they'll be I'm sure right now.

BRANDI CHASTAIN:  I just think Christie is such a tremendous example.  There's a lot of players who use words to either promote their team or themselves.  I love Christie Rampone because she represents herself with her actions.  And no actions spoke louder than the actions she had in the game against Brazil.  Step for step with Marta, keeping a young defense composed under the pressure, just doing what she knows is what's necessary to help her team to victory.

            I think it's with that kind of leadership she's giving her teammates the confidence to go out there and do the job.  I love that.  I look forward to seeing how she influences the game come Sunday.

Q.  Brandi, you talked earlier about how anybody that's played for U.S. soccer, you're trying to grow women's soccer.  Back in '99 it seemed there was so much more pressure on everybody to grow the sport because you were on home soil, playing in front of 100,000 people wherever you went.  Can you compare the pressures?  Seemed like you had a double duty.  At least here we're really just into the game and not so concerned about the future of the sport.

BRANDI CHASTAIN:  Well, I don't think you can necessarily separate the two.  Unfortunately or fortunately it is what it is.  These players are not only playing for the love of their country, the love of their team, but the level of women's soccer at the highest level in our country.  Every time they have success, it gives perhaps one more ticket sold and more fans coming to the stadium.

            But I think they do sort of have the responsibility while they're here as well, due to the social media aspect of this tournament.

            I was just actually saying to Alicia Ferguson how people are sending out messages, and it's hard not to respond to all of them.  They want those people to stay focused on the tournament and stay connected to the team, but really they have a responsibility to the 21 of them to get the job done.

            So I think the responsibilities, though slightly different because of the geography, they still remain the same.  They have first a responsibility to get the job done, as Julie said.  That's their main focus.  That's the reason they're here.  That should not be lost on them.  But ultimately, I know Hope has said in some recent interviews, It's not my responsibility to be a role model to everybody, to get along with everybody, what have you.  But ultimately she does have a responsibility because she's put in a place where she impacts the way people view U.S. women's soccer.

            She does have that responsibility and it will be shown by the number of people watching here in the stadium, watching it on television at home, and how they are received when they land stateside.

Q.  I think Pia said after the last game the U.S. was going to have to come out in the final and play with an American attitude.  Can you and Julie speak to what defines an 'American attitude'.

BRANDI CHASTAIN:  Jules?

JULIE FOUDY:  'Define an American attitude'?  Well, I would say what I've always loved about the team is this ability to enjoy the pressure and laugh in the face of adversity, to recognize the balance of what you're doing.  You need to enjoy the moment and you also need to get out there and we used to say 'rip their heads off'.  It was a roll-up-your-sleeves, get-your-fingernails-dirty.  Always the foundation of U.S. soccer has been to, you know, make sure there's a blue-collar mentality.

            In the end you want to be sophisticated with your play, technical and thoughtful, but always what you can bring is this element of fighting mentality.

BRANDI CHASTAIN:  And I would say, just to add to that, the commitment to the team.  There is a personal side, where as an individual you want to grow and get better and you want the time on the field, but not at the sake of what is best for the team.

            I can't tell you how many times I've personally experienced being on the training field when it wasn't somebody's job to do some work when the whole team, or at least the majority of the team, didn't jump in to help that player.  I think it's the idea that it's not one person; it's truly a village.  A team equals a village in this case, to make positive impacts, to win a championship.

            And I loved how Abby has stressed that time and time again in the interviews I've seen and I think in the way that she's played, that she's willing to, as in the last game when she headed that ball in off the corner kick from Lauren Cheney, she literally headed the ball and slammed into the post.  There are not many players who would sacrifice themselves for the team potentially knowing she could go head first into the post.

            But that's the type of player Abby is, and she does that because she knows anybody else on her team would do it for her.  That to me, that's how the U.S. team members embrace the idea of 'team' and the spirit of the American women's soccer players.

Q.  Brandi and Julie, as you know, about one-third of this team after the World Cup is going to come back here to South Florida as members of magicJack.  What doe magicJack and WPS need to do to keep this momentum rolling and are you confident those things are going to happen?

BRANDI CHASTAIN:  Julie?

JULIE FOUDY:  Well, I mean, similar to the spark we got from '99, I mean, the good news is they have a league that's in place, so there's a place already for people to go.  Anytime you try to convert the enthusiasm from a World Cup to a weekly product, it's a challenge for any sport, any gender.  It doesn't matter.  I mean, that's a whole different realm to then spur on that same excitement on a weekly basis.

            I think the good news is they already have these teams in place.  Now they've got to somehow get in with the grass-roots community and these teams and say, Let's make a bigger push here.  That's the challenge 'cause you got a lot of players playing soccer while their games are going on.

            I think when you create personalities, and you create stars like this World Cup is, there's just a following.  Even if you're not going to get as big a following, there is a following that is different.  They'll have a larger fan base now to draw from.

            There's a familiarity, most important, and a respect and appreciation for who these players are, that they'll want to watch on a weekly basis.

Q.  I know it's a little early, but for anyone who wants to jump in, a few keys to the game for the U.S.

BRANDI CHASTAIN:  I think one aspect of the game that will be perhaps very difficult for the U.S. is the composure and the confidence on Japan's possession game.  They are incredibly comfortable on the ball.  Ian and I were just talking about it in the hallway of the hotel, they're the closest thing we have to a Barcelona.  They love the little passes.  They love the combination play.  And the fans love it.

            In that regard, the U.S. has to stay compact.  They have to have good team defending.  They have to not be frustrated by not having the ball.  I think that will be a tall order if Japan plays the way they played against Sweden last night.

IAN DARKE:  I think, too, everybody has to respect Japan.  USA beat Japan twice in prep games before this tournament by two goals to zero.  It could have been more in both of those games.  I think Japan has moved on a couple levels since that.  Against Germany, an element they added to their game which they didn't have before, they were able to match Germany's physicality, repel all their attacks, win that game and shock everybody at this World Cup.  Then they've done it to another European team against Sweden.  They won the game easily.  They're full of confidence.  Before that game, as well, this is the Germany game, the coach showed them slides of the devastation of the earthquake and tsunami that they were representing their currently beleaguered nation.  This is a side with a sense of destiny who are really playing well.  I think they're the best footballing side in this tournament.

            Having said that, I think if the USA play their game, exactly at Brandi said, if they resist, learn to cope with the fact they may not have the lion's share of the possession in the game, I think they have the players to win the game and I think they will win the game.

Q.  Julie, you talk about this sort of American fighting mentality.  Anson talked about it from a coach's perspective.  How did this culture get started?

JULIE FOUDY:  It's funny you mention Anson.  I remember the quote from him, I respect talent; I admire courage.  That was the first quote I remember from him in '91.

            It has been part of the foundation of in team for a long time.  I mean, the challenge is, obviously, you don't just want to rely on that.  You have to evolve as a soccer-playing team in terms of just soccer sophistication and savvy because there's only so much you can call on in terms of athleticism, spirit and fight.

            But it will always, always be such a part of who this team is, as evidenced in this World Cup.

Q.  Brandi, we've seen some upsets, success from teams that weren't expected.  Can you talk about the state of the women's game.  Is the U.S. still facing a tougher situation in this World Cup than in previous go-arounds?

BRANDI CHASTAIN:  Well, I'm encouraged by the state of women's football around the world.  I think the perfect example is France.  Here is a team of young players who the majority of them play for a club team in France in Lyon, won the European champions and showed I think tremendous skill and knowledge of the game.  They gave the U.S. I think almost all they could handle and then some.  I think they're to be used as a measuring stick how the state of soccer, football, in this world is going.

            Again, I'll reiterate what Ian said about Japan.  I think they're a marvelous possession-oriented team.  They're a fun team to watch.  It was actually the first time I've been in a stadium during this World Cup seeing it not through the television screen.  I could tell by their body language and being there the joy they got out of having the ball and playing the ball and being together.  I think the fans sense that, as well.

            So I'm very encouraged by the state of football around the world.  Excuse me if I give one more example.  Even a time such as Equatorial Guinea, a team who nobody could get any information about, no DVDs, quite impressed with their players for never having been in a World Cup, for never having any higher-level championship games under their belts.  Those players were quite good.

            I think from the U.S. perspective, if we haven't already set back as a U.S. soccer administration and coaching staff and said, There are a lot of things that we need to do and a lot of things we need to do better, they will be thinking that at the conclusion of this tournament.

Q.  I watched the France - USA game with a group of 10-year-old girls.  I was impressed with the history they knew of the '99 team.  Can you talk about how important it is for young girls, especially, to have players that they can identify growing up watching and have success, how that plays into continuing the sport.

BRANDI CHASTAIN:  Well, if those young girls were in Frankfurt right now, they would have a taste of Julie's skills in the soccer game because we're going to play a pickup game against some young German boys.  Those 10-year-olds need somebody they can literally go to watch, kind of be in the same stadium, to have a personal connection.

            I remember so many times watching Mia and Julie and Joy and Christie signing autographs, but literally making eye contact with these young girls, giving them a high five, making a connection.  Maybe for our national team players that would last 30 seconds, but could last a lifetime for those young girls.

            That's what's so critical about having the WPS, what these players can do when they go back to their professional teams.  This grass-roots push I think will always truly be important for women's soccer, and the players have to do the legwork, and they have to make those connections to keep not only the dreams of those young girls alive but the existence of women's soccer in our country alive.

Q.  Julie and Brandi, Alex Morgan scored in a flash yesterday.  Will there be a push for her to start in the final and do you think she should?

JULIE FOUDY:  There has been a push for her to start for a while.  I don't think she will.  I think that's probably a good decision.  Brandi may disagree with me on that one as I've been hearing some of her commentary.

            I think she is a tremendous talent that gives a great spark, similar to a Shannon MacMillan in our era who came off the bench, and when people were starting to fatigue, she can come in and be a game changer.

            Second to that, I don't think Pia is going to make changes.  Pia has shown that she stays very true to the people she's gone with.  To be honest, she's made great decisions in this World Cup.  There's nothing you could look at and say, That hasn't worked out.

            My gut is she won't change things and start Morgan.  I think Morgan coming off the bench is a great asset for the United States.

BRANDI CHASTAIN:  For as much as I'd like to argue with Julie, I don't disagree with her.  But I do believe that Alex Morgan does get better with time on the field.  She has got a very good engine.  She's a tremendous athlete.  I think she has a great upside.  She's shown that even in the short amount of time that she plays that she can get in and around the goal and make dangerous chances happen on a regular basis.

            Perhaps she won't start.  But I would like to see her play more than 10 to 15 minutes in the match.  I wish that Pia would make maybe one change specifically, but I think, like Julie said, she is loyal to the players that have been playing for her.  I think it was a great intellectual and necessary change that she made in the center midfield putting Lauren Cheney in and bringing Megan Rapinoe in and taking Carli Lloyd out moving Cheney to the middle.  I think that gave the U.S. a completely different dynamic and made them more dangerous and more settled at the time.

Q.  Could you talk a little bit about how tough it has been for the women's team to make it to the final being ranked No. 1?

JULIE FOUDY:  I'm not a big believer in the rankings to begin with.  I think that, you know, given that they were the last to qualify for this World Cup, the hiccup they had in qualifying, the loss to England in April, loss to Norway in the last closed-door game they had here, it has been a bumpy road for the United States.

            As a team, what you go into is not thinking there's a No. 1 next to our name.  We've got to be more consistent, take it one game at a time, really make sure that we get a momentum going, which is exactly what they've done.

            At this level now it's never easy when you get here.  No one cares about rankings of other teams.  It's six games.  So I think it's been a huge challenge for them because the rest of the world is getting so much better, as we've seen.  There's been a changing of the guard.

IAN DARKE:  Just to add to what Julie said there.  They lost here against Sweden, as well.  There was some despair where the defense was looking rocky.  As Brandi and Julie were saying, Pia has made all the right calls.  She stayed faithful to that defense even though some people were wondering whether Amy LePeilbet's confidence had been shot and whether she should be taken out.  She kept the same defense.  The only change to the defense right the way through has been an enforced one with Sauerbrunn coming in for Rachel Buehler when she was suspended for the France game.

            They've got everything right.  They keep using the phrase 'bumpy road,' and at times it's almost developed a crater.  But there's an enormous faith I think within this group and belief that they will get out of every corner, and they have got out of every corner so far.         

BRANDI CHASTAIN:  Boy, I think when you wear the U.S. crest on your chest, there is a target on your back because of the success that the team has had in previous World Cups and the spotted history that they reside in.

            Whether or not it's for a championship such as Sunday, or even a friendly in January, there's an expectation about the U.S. team from the fans as well as from inside the team that exists.  You can't deny that.

            Every game against the U.S. is a big game for somebody else.  This game against Japan is the U.S.'s biggest game for the last 12 years.  I think the players know it.  They have been getting themselves ready game by game to face this challenge.  I think they're excited about having this opportunity.

            As a fan of soccer, I'm looking forward to it.  In analysis, I look forward to looking at the details and seeing whether or not they're handling this particular challenge with intelligence and with thoughtfulness.

THE MODERATOR:  Thank you very much.  This concludes the conference call.

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