5 questions with Abby Wambach

Pat Rooney, Special to the Rocky

Originally published 10:03 p.m., May 15, 2008
Updated 12:13 a.m., May 16, 2008

The star of the United States women's soccer national team visited Dick's Sporting Goods Park on Thursday as part of the second Women's Soccer Celebration. Wambach, who will visit Colorado again July 13 when the national team plays Brazil, sat down with Rocky Mountain News contributor Pat Rooney.

1. How much do you still enjoy doing promotional events for women's soccer?

"The cool part of what I get to do outside of just playing is I get to expand as a human by doing community work, by really helping the cause and the movement of women's sports. It's not a burden of professional athletes, it's a responsibility. It's not easy getting on a plane and having to go do something, especially sometimes if you're a rookie and you're not getting paid. I went through a lot of those years where it was hard work, but it was so worth it because I accepted it from the get-go. I accepted the fact that I wanted to be part of this movement."

2. Next year, WPS (Women's Professional Soccer) will be launched. What will it take for a top-flight professional women's soccer league to succeed in this country?

"I think with the WPSL and the W-League, the foundation they have and the hard work and many years they have put in to developing their specific leagues, I think it would be really beneficial for the WPS to not lean on their success. . . . I feel we can all work together. Maybe with an extension league, or a minor league system where you have players going up and down. . . . Communication between the leagues is going to be very important and vital to sustain the level on the field. Because ultimately that is what is going to put people in the seats."

3. What sort of goals should the WPS set for itself?

"We don't want to be like any other league. We want something to be special and touch people in a way that is not the same as the NFL or Major League Baseball. Time will tell and patience will be the key. Which women are almost more suited for."

4. Is there a venue or country you enjoy playing in the most?

"I've been all over the world and I really enjoyed playing in Paris. I played in England before and I like the level of commitment the English people have about the game itself. They are so die-hard, and it is so contagious when you get into an environment where people are so into something. . . . It's crazy to see how different it is from here."

5. How did being the youngest of seven siblings, including four brothers, shape your competitive drive?

"Huge. That was crucial in terms of my development not only as a person, but as an athlete. We were very, very involved in sports from an early age. My mom was totally strapped for time to get an inning in here or a quarter in there. It was nuts for her to get us all into organized sports, but she did it and she did it seamlessly, it seemed, at the time."