Photo: Tylenol
Mia Hamm loves soccer. I didn't have to interview her to know that, but after an eleven-minute conversation, I walked away understanding just how deeply that love runs. More importantly, I realized that her relationship with the game doesn't begin or end with everything she accomplished on the pitch.
In fact, every time I brought up one of those accomplishments, Hamm brought the conversation back to her team, to the game, to the athletes who have come before and after her. That's more than humility. That's love.
The game itself has become part of her legacy. The growth of women's soccer in the United States — the investment, the talent, the opportunities — is living proof of Hamm's impact, more than any trophy ever could be.
When you think about where the sport is today — its growth, its talent, and the generations it’s inspired — it’s hard to imagine women’s soccer in the United States reaching its current heights without Mia Hamm. For someone with a résumé that quite literally could fill an entire article (my first draft actually did), I was curious how Hamm would describe this chapter of her life, with more years off the field than on it.
She didn’t mention championships or records. She called herself "an ambassador for the game" who is simply "sharing the history of not just the women's national team, but soccer here in this country with nothing but love and positivity for where the game is now and how we can continue to move it forward."
That answer told me everything I needed to know.
That love for soccer and the athletes who keep it alive naturally led our conversation to pain. You don’t spend 17 years competing at the highest level and later become an ambassador for the sport without feeling a responsibility for the game, the people who play it, and the generations coming after you. You’re talking about someone who knows firsthand how the pressure to perform and the instinct to simply "push through" can force an athlete to ask themselves a difficult question: What comes first — this win or my health?
That responsibility is what makes TYLENOL's PainTalk feel like a natural fit. Developed with Hamm and current NWSL player Emma Sears, the platform encourages athletes to recognize pain, talk about it and understand that acknowledging it is the first step toward effective relief.
What makes the campaign work is the pairing itself. It brings together the steward of the game and its future. The generational gap between Hamm and Sears elevated my conversations with each of them.
While the sport has changed dramatically — Hamm laughed about eating Eggo waffles on her way to practice, while Sears described having access to chefs, sports medicine staff and mental health professionals — one thing hasn't. No matter the era, the conversation around pain still starts with the athlete. Acknowledging pain isn't what keeps athletes off the pitch; it can help keep them on it.
Pain wasn't the only thing Hamm and I discussed. We also talked about The 99ers, her legacy, the best advice she ever received, the future of the sport and, of course, the World Cup. (Spoiler: She's rocking a U.S. kit, but she's also keeping a close eye on France and Norway.)
Read my full conversation with Mia Hamm below.
I have to start with this — if someone ever made a movie about my life in any way, I would never shut up about it. So can we hop into The 99'ers? What can you tell me about the upcoming film that follows your 1999 FIFA Women's World Cup team?
Two and a half weeks ago, I was on set, and one of the things the cast kept saying was how close they've all become. It was one of the things that they felt, in watching interviews about us and watching our team, they really wanted to represent: how we all supported each other and what we were going through. It was important to have that as the throughline in all the scenes in the movie.
Before filming, did you have conversations about non-negotiables for you? Moments where you said, "This has to be in the film," or, "You can't leave this out"?
One of the things I told them was how important our coach was to our success. I think you have all these dynamics at play, and you have all these individuals at play. To have the type of person he was leading our group at that time, who was very self-aware and vulnerable at the same time, saying, ‘I know I'm good at this, but I also need other people around me to help kind of take care of some of my deficiencies as a coach.’
As a player, especially at that time in your career, you feel that you know a lot more than you used to know, but there's still growth to happen. I don't have to be all things for all people. I can be okay being myself. That's the message he shared with us every single day, and I think that was really important for me personally, and I know a lot of our teammates, to get across. Because if we had had another type of personality, someone who came in and said, ‘I'm gonna micromanage this group,’ we wouldn't have had the success, we wouldn't have had as much fun, and we wouldn't have had the same impact. He was just the perfect coach at the perfect time.
So would you say that's the best career advice you've received?
I think from him, yes, because he taught me that there is strength in being vulnerable and not to shy away. We're talking about it in this campaign — to say it's okay if I'm not okay, or it's okay to ask for help when you're in pain, to acknowledge it and do something about it.
It's okay to say, ‘I'm a good soccer player, but I don't do this well.’ Rather than continuing to say, ‘Oh, yeah. I can do it,’ when you know it doesn't help the team. There are teammates around you who are much better suited to be in that position.
Yeah, I agree. I feel like we're in this new generation where athletes are having these open conversations about pain and mental health. It's so beautiful to see because I feel like we've, in many ways, evolved past the ‘suffer in silence’ era. With that being said, what about this partnership with TYLENOL made you say, ‘This is the time to have this conversation?’
I think exactly that. I think being open... Emma has a different experience now as a player, and we all have fears when we're out there. If you're hurt or you're in pain, does that impact your playing time?
But more so, it's just listening to your body and being proactive in its care. Those decisions you make now might be difficult, but they will help you in the long run.
Speaking of the long run, what has it been like seeing the growth in access for athletes to resources as the sport has grown over the years? What does that feel like for you?
I think that we have a lot more similarities, even though our environments might be vastly different in terms of resources. First of all, as a former player, that's what I want for her. But also, to hear from her the challenges that come with that, and how the expectations are much greater because there are no excuses. You have a physical therapist, massage therapist, and all the stuff for prehab and rehab at your disposal.
We were talking about a chef. She was like, 'We have a chef that makes breakfast and lunch.' And I was saying, 'Yeah. I had, like, an Eggo waffle on my way to practice.' Or a bagel. But in the end, we still had some of the same excitement and fears as a player. You want to perform. You want to do your best. You want to show up, get better, and hope that you're improving your teammates every single day.
So the fact that this is one of our first interactions, there's a lot... we have a lot more similarities than we do differences. And, as a former player, she was just on the national team trip. We're cheering for her, and we're here as a resource for her and to thank her for the investment she has made in this game and continues to make.
Switching gears a bit, we're in the middle of World Cup mania. One of my favorite things about the World Cup every time it rolls around, there are countless Americans who find out we have men's and women's national soccer teams. And for every new fan, about 10 longtime fans are teaching them the history of the game. What does it mean to you that soccer has been able to grow so much in terms of reach over the years here in the U.S.? I feel like soccer has become a much bigger sport here.
I'm incredibly proud. I think, on both the men's and women's sides, you're seeing our national team players playing at the best, biggest clubs. They play here in our domestic leagues, but they're also playing at the biggest clubs all over the world. Credibility, legitimacy — all these things are happening. You're seeing it with the investment our federation is making and the growth of the game. Now, it's making sure those experiences for young kids continue to be positive ones.
I love that. And then, speaking of young kids, I would love to know: What would you tell a young Mia with all that you know and have experienced now?
I think that it's gonna be okay. I wanted so badly to do well all the time that I wish I enjoyed it a little bit more. It's funny — I talked to my college friends, and I was like, "Man, I wish I enjoyed college a little more." They're like, "Yeah. That's why you were good... You see, I went out all the time, and that's why I didn't get on the field."
So, yeah, [I'd tell her] you're fine. I think my intensity is what made me really focused and good. I just wish there were times I could temper it a little bit more when I was there.
And then my last question. How would you describe this point in your life, as a former player?
I'm an ambassador for the game. Just kind of sharing the history of not just the women's national team, but soccer here in this country — with nothing but love and positivity for where the game is now and how we can continue to move it forward.
And where do you see that going?
I think strengthening our domestic leagues because I'm in ownership groups on both the men's and women's sides. I think a lot of the talk is focused on youth soccer and making sure that it's about fun and development, and not necessarily about results. We create environments where kids want to stay a part of the game. I think if we do that, we'll continue to grow our national teams. But at the same time, we'll have people connected to the game for the rest of their lives because of the lessons they've been able to learn on the field.
This interview has been edited for clarity and length.