THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, July 21, 1996 TAG: 9607210198
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: TOM ROBINSON
LENGTH: 72 lines
In the history of U.S. women's field hockey, rarer words were never spoken than those by Kelli James, who on Saturday morning said, quote: ``I was just telling NBC . . . ''
Unquote.
And highly unusual.
Her network appearance kept James, the former Old Dominion terror and the U.S. Olympic team's ace forward, on the field long after the U.S. rallied to a 1-1 tie with the Netherlands.
Later, during an audience with a half-dozen writers, James found herself on strange turf again. She actually disclosed that, at a couple points in the match, she could not hear her teammates' shouts over the rumble of a crowd estimated at 10,000 by game's end - 6,000 shy of the unofficial record for a U.S. game set at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics.
``It was hard to hear the officials as well,'' James said. ``You had to find her and look which way she was blowing.''
Of course, the real racket James heard was the sheet of anonymity being ripped from her sport.
It happens every four years, and is particularly apparent when the Olympics are in the United States. Field hockey gets dressed up, basks in 14 days of fame, then returns to its normal position in the pecking order, as per the law of the American sports jungle.
Nobody ever said that jungle was fair to the women who give much of their youth, not to mention good measures of skin and blood, to their game. Could be worse, though. James could be a real nobody, an archer or something.
As it was, it is fair to say those 10,000 people helped bring forth the game-tying goal - a Marcia Pankratz tip-in of a Barb Marois penalty-corner blast - with less than two minutes to play.
``An NBA player doesn't hear the crowd,'' James said. ``But when you're used to playing in front of seven or eight people who've come to watch a scrimmage match. . . . Yes, you hear the crowd.''
That was nothing compared to the roar the U.S. women heard less than 12 hours earlier, when they entered Olympic Stadium for the opening ceremonies. Whether or not they would attend had been a subject of speculation because of their 9 a.m. match, one of the three early-morning events that kicked off the Games.
Holland's coach made the decision for his team: no ceremonies. But the U.S. women voted to go, and didn't return to the Olympic Village till 1 a.m. after being swept first from the stadium on the heels of the U.S. men's basketball team.
One hockey player chose not to attend, but Virginia Beach's Laurel Martin said it sure wasn't her.
``To march into that stadium and hear the crowd go wild, to be able to take that in and say, `Yes, I'm finally here,' '' Martin said. ``That's been a dream for so long and suddenly it's like, they're cheering for us. For me.''
It's good that Martin enjoyed the applause, because she barely left the bench Saturday morning. She played right wing for about four minutes in the second half, never touched the ball and was none too pleased, though diplomatic, about the whole thing.
``I've been playing more than that,'' said Martin, who lost her starting spot while on maternity leave that ended in March. ``I don't know if that's the way it's going to be or if it was just today. I just have to stay in and not get frustrated, that's my biggest challenge. It's just the way things go.''
In general, though, a great thing about the Olympics is the way the status quo gets tipped on its head. The way a bunch of women who receive a stipend of $600 to $800 a month, who work part-time jobs to play for their country, can finally reap a reward of cameras in their faces and noises in their ears.
They've got to love it while it lasts. ILLUSTRATION: Color photo
Ex-Old Dominion University player Kelli James starred for the U.S.
in a 1-1 tie with the Netherlands.
KEYWORDS: OLYMPIC GAMES 1996 by CNB