University of North Carolina Athletics
Car-O-Lines
July 17, 2000 | General
July 17, 2000
By Rick Brewer
Martina Hingis, Venus Williams, Lindsay Davenport and Monica Seles were involved in a pair of intriguing slugfests in the recent Wimbledon quarterfinals - the kind of tennis matches that make it easy to understand why the women's game is so much better to watch today than the men's.
And in most polls, tennis is the women's sport that is the most appealing to the largest number of people.
But, with all due respect to those four tennis greats, probably the most highly profiled in their sport, there is a good chance that none of them is the best-known female athlete in the world today. That "title" may well go to one of two former Carolina stars.
The feeling here is that Mia Hamm and Marion Jones may be the most famous women in the world of sport today. Soccer still holds its place as the world's most popular sport and Hamm is certainly the game's best-known player.
People in every nation compete in track and Jones is now recognized as the world's fastest woman. Her hope to win five gold medals at this summer's Olympic Games has brought more attention to her and her sport.
When discussing famous people or events, there used to be an old saying:
"Yeah, but there are one billion people in China who have never heard of that."
Well, plenty of people in China and all over the world have heard of Hamm and Jones. Hamm, in fact, competed in China at the 1991 Women's Cup Championships. She has also been the star of U.S. teams that have defeated great China teams during a number of international competitions since then. Hamm hasn't been the only outstanding player on those U.S. teams, of course. ut, she has been the woman who has become the role model for an increasing number of youngsters who have grown up hoping to play soccer.
She is the player with whom opponents must be most concerned when they face the American team. Although she has scored more goals in international competition than any man or woman in history, she hasn't had as many goals in the last couple of years as in the past.
A big reason for that is the attention she draws from opposing defenders. ut, that has allowed other U.S. players to get more scoring chances and has resulted in continued American success.
For example, in last summer's World Cup games Hamm scored only two goals. ut, she was constantly double-teammed in the competition. Late in the final game against China she showed her amazing skills when she stole a ball and dribbled through three Chinese defenders on one sideline. She then fired a pass to an open teammate in the middle of the field, but the scoring opportunity ended when she never got the ball back.
Jones has rocketed into the international spotlight in the last three years with her sensational performances in the sprints and long jump.
Like Hamm, she has become the covergirl of numerous magazines. Her drive of win five Gold Medals at this summer's Olympic Games will make her the key figure in track and field at Sydney. And, at the Summer Olympics the sports that get the most attention are track, swimming and gymnastics.
Strangely, when Jones rocketed onto the sports scene with her record performances in the 100 and 200 meters and the long jump, she was probably more widely known in other parts of the world than in her home country. Track and field, unfortunately, only seems to get a good deal of media coverage in the United States during an Olympic year. That's when the American public, so caught up with team competition, begins to get more interested in the sport.
But, it is obvious that Americans will have to be living in a vacuum if they don't know who Jones is by the time of the Summer Games. NBC certainly will build much if its Olympic telecasts around her and the rivalry that has developed with another U.S. star, Inger Miller.
Jones figures to get prime coverage on not only television around the world, but also by all the world's newspapers and sports magazines.
Hamm has already gotten that. She will get more at the Summer Games, although soccer certainly won't get the attention that many of the other sports do.
Jones and Hamm, two incredible women, who both are Carolina graduates. And, the amazing thing is if asked to name the top male athlete in the world, there are many who would still say Michael Jordan. The University certainly has been fortunate to have helped in the development of some incredible athletes who have brought a great deal of positive publicity back to their alma mater.
