Cody Tittle was the first in line Tuesday afternoon. With Finley Stadium’s gates not scheduled to open until 4:30 for the United States women’s World Cup champs’ free and open practice in advance of tonight’s “friendly” against Costa Rica, Tittle arrived before 3 p.m.
“I brought my little sister Hannah’s jersey,” said the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga student and Nashville native. “I’ve got a Sharpie. I hope they’ll sign it for her.”
By 5:45 p.m., the practice not yet an hour old, there were close to 3,000 more folks just like Tittle, Sharpies in hand and anything they could find to be signed at the ready, all of them hoping to take home something of permanence with which to better remember soccer’s sensational summer of success.
We all know the names now: Abby Wambach, Carli Lloyd, Alex Morgan, Morgan Brian, Becky Sauerbrunn and the world’s best women’s goalie, Hope Solo. We know them so well that they’ve become first-name-only celebrities, much as Brandi Chastain and Mia Hamm achieved similar status following the 1999 U.S. team’s World Cup crown.
“For everybody on this team, life as we once knew it is a little different now,” said Wambach, who drew the loudest cheers throughout the rain-shortened workout. “Walking through an airport, eating out at a restaurant. It’s definitely changed.”