Four years ago, the United States women's national soccer team won over the hearts of the nation after Brandi Chastain won the 1999 World Cup at the Rose Bowl.
In 2003, the USA's quest to repeat as champions will pass through Philadelphia.
The brand-new Lincoln Financial Field, soon to be the Eagles' home, will also be one of six venues for this fall's Women's World Cup, which begins September 20th in Philadelphia and ends October 12th in Carson, Calif.
The tournament was originally supposed to be played in China, but was moved from there earlier this year because of fears over the SARS disease.
Along with Lincoln Field, which will host the United States' second game on Thursday, September 25th, five other stadiums will host games. The U.S. team will begin play on Sept. 21 at RFK Stadium in Washington, D.C. 30 of the 32 games will be played as doubleheaders, except for the third-place and championship games.
Penn women's soccer coach Darren Ambrose could barely hide his excitement when the news broke that Philadelphia would be a host venue.
"It's a tremendous event for athletics, for sports in general for Philadelphia," he said. "It is like nothing else in any other sport."
The Sheffield, England native will not have his home country to root for -- they were knocked out of the qualifying tournament by France, led by Philadelphia Charge forward Marinette Pichon -- but he knows that there is plenty for everybody to look forward to this fall, especially his players.
"I hope our players will watch and learn," he said. "We need to watch higher level games more often and study what those players are doing that makes them so successful. Nothing teaches like the game itself."
Ambrose's team, and many other college squads, will be in the thick of their seasons when the tournament begins, but he does not see that as a problem.
"We are very fortunate to be able to take in the atmosphere and see some of the best women's soccer in the world," he said. Both the Penn men's and women's teams benefit from not having games on either of the two days on which Lincoln Field has World Cup games scheduled.
Philadelphia's selection as a venue was something of a lucky one. The U.S. Soccer Federation initially wanted to play the Americans' opening game at Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J., but New York Giants owner John Mara and coach Jim Fassel did not want to give up the facility during the time period that the USSF, as well as the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority, wanted it for the tournament.
Faced with a FIFA-imposed deadline to pick the stadiums and start working out television schedules, the USSF went straight to Eagles President Joe Banner -- who, according to published reports, had been quietly lobbying for games all along -- and told him that Lincoln Field would be chosen as a site.
In a conference call with members of the media held last week, U.S. Soccer Secretary General Dan Flynn called the Eagles organization "first class the entire way" when it came to venue negotiations.
Richard Groff, a USSF board member from Doylestown, Pa., told the Philadelphia Inquirer after the venues were announced that "if we do a good job, and we will, I expect we will have men's World Cup qualifying matches in Philadelphia next year."
The decision to pick Carson over the Rose Bowl, which hosted the 1994 Men's and 1999 Women's World Cup finals, was a controversial but purposeful one. In addition to serving as a hedge should the United States not make the final, the Home Depot Center is owned by Anschutz Entertainment Group, the principal investor in Major League Soccer.
For Ambrose and thousands of other soccer fans across the country, the next few months promise to be as exhilarating and memorable as any in American soccer history.
"I am thrilled that Philadelphia has an opportunity to be part of a World Cup," he said. "I hope the city and the Penn community embrace the event and make it memorable."
