FCGP Press Coverage: Chastain versus Meza

By: David | March 2nd, 2009

With today’s opening of Training Camp, you can expect some decent press interest in the occasion, some of it totally predictable – like Brandi Chastain’s appearance on ESPN this morning – and some of it from a refreshingly new angle — like unheralded Priscilla Meza’s interview in the Santa Cruz Sentinel.

You know Chastain’s story, of course, and her commentary on the eve of the new league is optimistic. And she continues to celebrate the existence of womens soccer at the highest level. Yeah, that’s nice. And important.

But for a much more interesting angle as to why womens professional soccer is important, take note of the lesser-known Priscilla Meza story:

As a kid, Priscilla Meza found solace on the soccer field.

Beginning in middle school, Meza would scurry from her home — a den of drugs and domestic violence where a steady flow of strangers always seemed to be coming through the front door looking for their next fix. She would flee to the neighborhood field to kick the ball around or join a pick-up game with the boys. She’d stay out for a couple hours, until she cleared her head.

“Soccer got me away from all the drama of the house,” said Meza, 22, a tall and lean midfielder who goes by her middle name rather than her birth name, Dulce. “It was pretty fun. It was a way to keep busy. The last thing I wanted to do was go home. I’d do anything to keep me from there.” …

Today, Meza will be on the same field as soccer icons Brandi Chastain and Tiffeny Milbrett and 29 other nationally established players who are vying to make the FC Gold Pride — the Bay Area’s team in the newly formed Women’s Professional Soccer league.

The whole story by Jill Seimas is an excellent look into the impact sports can have on anyone who wants to transform their dreams into reality. Whether or not Meza appears on the pitch for the Black & Gold, it’s a solid reminder of the cultural relevance of the sport and womens role in it.

And I’m starting to get excited!