--- title: World Cup: Today's Players Are Appreciated for Achievements, Not Looks description: In 1999 David Letterman called us "Babe City" canonical: https://time.com/3947113/world-cup-women-players-today/ author: Briana Scurry article:opinion: true article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-07-06T21:42:20.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T08:06:20.907Z article:section: Ideas og:title: World Cup Champ: Today's Women Players Are Appreciated for Their Achievements—Not for How They Look og:description: In 1999 David Letterman called us "Babe City" og:url: https://time.com/3947113/world-cup-women-players-today/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd0b347c05bb8a658/698859c2f887dc265be913fa/briana-scurry.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2070 og:image:height: 1164 og:image:alt: Womens World Cup 2007 briana scurry og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: World Cup Champ: Today's Women Players Are Appreciated for Their Achievements—Not for How They Look twitter:description: In 1999 David Letterman called us "Babe City" twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd0b347c05bb8a658/698859c2f887dc265be913fa/briana-scurry.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # World Cup Champ: Today's Women Players Are Appreciated for Their Achievements—Not for How They Look > Sponsored content. 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Named editors include Richard Hall (The Brief), Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs (Inside TIME), Eliza Berman (Worth Your Time), Philip Elliott (D.C. Brief), Justin Worland (Future Proof) and Harry Booth (In the Loop). Health Matters is written by TIME's health desk. #### How do I sign up for a TIME newsletter? Go to time.com/newsletters, choose the newsletters you want and enter your email address. There is no cost and no subscription requirement. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/newsletters?i=3828bfd7-da6b-47c7-a253-c649bb74ee59&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1) ## Video: Meet the 23: USA Women's World Cup team [Watch (HLS stream): Meet the 23: USA Women's World Cup team](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/zOigpe7t.m3u8) (1:37)  _Published 2015-06-02. Meet the 23 players representing the United States in the 2015 Women's World Cup._  by [Briana Scurry](https://time.com/author/briana-scurry/)  ## Briana Scurry Jul 6, 2015 9:42 PM UTC  U.S. Goalkeeper Briana Scurry acknowledges the crowd after her team's 4-1 win against Norway at Hongkou Stadium in Shanghai on September 30, 2007. U.S. Goalkeeper Briana Scurry acknowledges the crowd after her team's 4-1 win against Norway at Hongkou Stadium in Shanghai on September 30, 2007. Ronald Martinez—Getty Images  by [Briana Scurry](https://time.com/author/briana-scurry/)  ## Briana Scurry Jul 6, 2015 9:42 PM UTC As a member of the U.S. women’s team that brought home the World Cup in 1999, it was an amazing experience to be a fan in the stands and watch the U.S. win 5-2 against Japan Sunday night. Now I have a better understanding of why so many people have come up to me over the last 16 years to explain the joy and excitement they felt watching me play. I had the exact same emotions watching the team in Vancouver. It’s no surprise that the match was the highest-rated soccer game ever—for men or women. There was an incredible buildup since Japan beat the U.S. in 2011, so there was a score to settle. The match also had the advantage of social media. People in the U.S. felt like they knew the players, making it more personal. The 2015 team grew and improved throughout the tournament—just like we did in 1999\. It’s a testament to their coaching that they were able to play to each team so well. And the U.S. team’s defense was amazing, holding down the fort while the offense figured things out. Defense wins championships, and the U.S. team was as good as it gets in a tournament like this when the expectations are so high. On Sunday night it was like the players had been shot out of a cannon. They scored two goals in the first five minutes! The goal Carli Lloyd scored from the midfield was definitely my favorite to watch. I don’t think people who aren’t normally soccer fans truly appreciate the skill it took for her to make that goal. Lloyd is one of the few players to have the audacity to take a shot like that—and make it—in a World Cup final. As a goalkeeper, I felt for the Japanese keeper, Ayumi Kaihori. You have to be vigilant about goals being scored in clusters, which is what happened on Sunday. After being scored on, I used to give myself from the time the ball touched the net until it was being played at midfield to pout about it, and then I would pick myself up concentrate on making it more difficult for them to score the next one. A lot has changed since the 1999 team helped bring women’s soccer into the mainstream, especially when it comes to being recognized as world-class athletes. In ‘99 some people only wanted to comment on our looks. For example, I remember going on David Letterman and him calling the team “Babe City.” However, we showed the world that women could be powerful, strong, determined, and capable of guiding their own destinies, too. Now women players are more appreciated for their achievements on the field and not for how they look. I’m proud to know that we were part of that change. Seeing this World Cup made me remember reading stories about young girls who watched us compete in 1999 and were inspired to play soccer. Some of those girls are the same ones who played Sunday night. Now they’re role models for the next generation. That’s the real beauty of the win. ## Transcript [00:00] [ MUSIC ] [00:03] With every year, the women's game grows so [00:06] exponentially. We want to be the best. We want to say [00:09] that we're the best. And now it's about getting it done. [00:10] I've played with a lot of great [00:14] players. I've played on a lot of incredible teams. Each [00:18] team has their own story. We haven't won since 1999. [00:23] So I think it's very important for us and [00:28] we want to bring that home to the US. We've [00:32] got tremendous players and many of them do feel that [00:35] not having a World Cup on their resume is the missing [00:36] piece. If you've ever [00:40] played with me, you know that when World Cups and [00:42] Olympics happen, I will do whatever it After seeing my [00:46] third world cup, I'm a veteran. I'm a leader. And just [00:49] try to carry it around on my shoulders. For us, I think [00:52] its, we can do anything on the field. I think that all of [00:55] our assets, if we put them together, and we put our [00:58] best foot forward we're going to be the number one [01:00] team in the world. And that's the ultimate goal for this [01:02] team. We want to win, we want to bring the world cup [01:05] back to the U. S. It's all I can think about, it's all I want. [01:09] Let's hope I get it, so I can be happy for the rest of my [01:10] life The quality that this team [01:15] has brought the last ten, fifteen years, we're deserving [01:15] of a World Cup, being so close last time around, [01:15] there's no looking back now This is it for us, and [01:15] especially a couple of the veterans who noticed [01:15] [ INAUDIBLE ]. 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