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Add My StoryAuthor: Sarah Dejak
“Someone once asked me, were you pioneers, or was 99 an anomaly?”
-Julie Foudy, Captain of 1999 Women’s National Team
After 90 minutes of regulation play and 30 minutes of overtime play, the 1999 U.S. Women’s soccer team defeated China in a penalty kick shootout for the World Cup championship title, officially giving them the name the “99ers.” The U.S. women’s team earned an opportunity for women’s soccer to launch into the limelight. Their journey from the start of the World Cup tournament began in the Giant’s stadium in June and ended in Southern California’s Rose Bowl stadium with the iconic image of Brandi Chastain celebrating after her final penalty kick secured the U.S. a World Cup victory.
1. While the women won gold and bronze respectively in the 1991 and 1995 World Cups as well as gold in the 1996 summer Olympics, the first time people really took notice of women’s soccer was with the 99’ers World Cup victory.
2. The 1999 game versus China set an attendance record for most people at a single game for a women’s only sporting event.
3. The final game was the most watched soccer match in the U.S., for men or women, with a record 40 million TV viewers in the US alone.
4. Brandi Chastain’s celebration created a defining and iconic moment for women’s sports and is still widely recognized.
5. This World Cup tournament held a FIFA attendance record of over one million people.
6. The final shootout with China was the first time penalties ever decided a game in the FIFA World Cup.
7. Largest arena that a women’s sport had been played in was at the Rose Bowl stadium in Southern California.
8. With their win against China in the finals, the US team became the only country to win the tournament on their home country’s soil.
9. In their opening game against Denmark, the 99’ers played in Giant’s stadium in New Jersey. More than 78,000 people attended the game creating an attendance record for most people in Giants stadium with the exception of the Pope’s appearance in 1995.
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