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CNN Live Today

Interview With Julie Foudy

Aired August 23, 2002 - 11:49   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: The women's professional championship game will be played tomorrow. It's right here in Atlanta. It's Washington Freedom versus the Carolina Courage.
Julie Foudy is president of the Women's Sports Foundation and a midfielder for WUSA San Diego Spirit. And she is here with us live, which we are just thrilled about.

JULIE FOUDY, WOMEN'S SPORTS FOUNDATION: I feel like -- I've never been in the set live. I'm always on satellite.

KAGAN: We always talk to with you with a box around your head, but the big game brings you here to town.

FOUDY: Yes.

KAGAN: First give us a little preview of what that is. Washington -- Is that Mia's team?

FOUDY: Mia's team is playing Carolina's team. Carolina was in last place last year. Got all these great new picks. Daniel Slate, and the young kid that plays with the national team. Bergett Frances (ph), a German national team star, so -- Hagar Reese (ph), the Norwegian star.

So they're play at 4:00 p.m. tomorrow at Herndan Stadium here in Atlanta. Second annual founder's cup, second one I'm not in.

KAGAN: But who's counting.

San Diego, not the best season for San Diego.

FOUDY: No, thank you for...

KAGAN: As we like it stress the positives around here, second season for WUSA, and an incredible opportunity for woman athletes, a cause that is dear to your heard, of course, and many of us around here.

FOUDY: And that's the thing, this big picture is just so wonderful. We finally have this league. Last year, our inaugural season was great. This year has been another successful year. We have got a lot of new great sponsors, Coca-Cola, McDonald's, Maytag, you know, great blue-chip sponsors have come in and said, we want to come in and support this league. So I'm thinking, it's going to be around for a long time, and we're excited about that. KAGAN: And the difference being, not just being an athlete, but being one of the founders, getting a chance to get the business side in here, too. Lessons learned over the last two seasons?

FOUDY: Oh, yes.

KAGAN: A few?

FOUDY: There is more to off the field than I ever wanted to imagine. That's the beauty of this league is the players are so involved in it. The founding players from the '99 world cup team were the ones who said, these are our visions, these are our ideas. This is what we see it being, and the investors have been awesome. Our investors are great, Cox and Comcasts, and Time Warner, and John Hendricks (ph), Discovery, and they said, what do you want? Let us know what you want. So it's a really a player's league, which is wonderful.

KAGAN: Which is great.

FOUDY: And also, anybody that has gone to one of these things, the access that the players give to the kids, especially the little girls.

KAGAN: And once again, big picture, for all those people who poo-poo women's sports, and women's professional sports, and I'm throwing out unbiased here, there is a whole different aspect going on of getting especially girls involved in sports. I know with the Women's Sports Foundation, that's something that's important to you, too.

FOUDY: And that's the thing, all of us growing up were watching men play, you know, and it was never realistic to dream of being a professional athlete, and here you have all these wonderful role models that are female athletes, are they're not just great athletes, but they're wonderful people and that's what I love. So you have this plethora of these role models for these young kids that they can look at, emulate and something that's very realistic.

KAGAN: It is. It's great. Keep up the good work there, and also with the women's sports foundation, and stop by any time.

Julie Foudy, soccer star.

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