One of the many struck misty eyed was women’s soccer legend Mia Hamm, who will call the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, Greece her last tournament – just over 17 years after playing her first minutes in a U.S. uniform. When she was just 15 years old, Hamm became the youngest woman ever to play with the team.

“I saw Pete Sampras’ speech and was immediately in tears,” said Hamm, now 32. “I know that it’s the right time – you’d like to be able to play forever, but you can’t. I will never play with this group of athletes again and that’s special to me. I want to leave caring about this team.”

Sampras set aside his racquet with 64 singles titles, including a record 14 at Grand Slam tournaments: seven at Wimbledon, five at the U.S. Open, and two at the Australian Open. For Hamm, the team’s all-time leading scorer and winner of a 1992 Olympic gold medal and 1996 silver, any medal in Athens will do. 

“We go into every game with the intent to play and the intent to win, but gold, silver or bronze in Athens and I’ll be proud to be on this team. I want to enjoy this for the right reasons and that’s to be able to play with the best of the best,” said Hamm. “There’s no doubt I’m going to miss it, absolutely – these players are a part of my life. As Pete said, sometimes you just know the time is the right time. I've enjoyed every minute and I've learned a lot, but it's time to take the next step in my life."

But what’s next for the most recognized name in women’s soccer? Coaching, working on rebuilding the WUSA or becoming the Boston Red Sox and husband Nomar Garciaparra’s No. 1 fan?

“I just want to be a mom,” said Hamm. Her inspiration starts with her mom and dad.

“My parents say, ‘I hate getting older,’ but I’m ready to take the next step, I’m ready to start a family and I’m ready not to get kicked for a while.”

One of six children to Bill and Stephanie Hamm, a U.S. Air Force Colonel and a professional ballet dancer, Hamm’s youth was one of constant motion. Yet even though mom and dad didn’t have much time to spend on personal attention with their little girl, Hamm says that their encouragement was enough to keep her wanting to do her best.

“My father was always on the go and my mother and I didn’t go out and kick the ball much, probably for her safety,” laughed Hamm. “They were always so encouraging and as my career has grown, they’ve been there along with me. Instead of going on a vacation on their own, my parents, along with my sisters and brothers have come to watch me play and they didn’t have to do that, but they wanted to.”

One of the best memories for Hamm comes from the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta. While walking into the first game, she looked up to see her sisters in the stands crying and the sight immediately caused her to burst into tears. Hamm then scored the second goal in a 3-0 win over Denmark - it was her only goal of the tournament.

“They’re as big as a part of it as my teammates in terms of my development. If you don’t have people that are there to encourage and love you when you are away from the team, it’s hard to do and my family has been absolutely tremendous and that’s exactly how I’d like to raise my family.”

Post Athens, there are no plans to be the ultimate soccer mom as Hamm says she’ll support her family in the same way her parents looked over their little girl.

“Whether my children play soccer or baseball or they love music, I’ll be proud of them and support them any way I can.”

No doubt the support will go well beyond her family and while she says she will not coach, she will look to assist in rebuilding the WUSA for the future of women’s soccer and women’s athletics. With the success of the WNBA and the resurgence of women’s collegiate programs, the next step is to relaunch professional soccer. According to Hamm, the best feeling about playing professional soccer is seeing a young fan wearing your jersey.

“There’s nothing better than signing an autograph for a little girl and seeing that your jersey looks better on her than it does on you – it’s the extreme compliment. What I hope and what my team hopes is that in wearing our jerseys, those girls aspire to have their own name on that jersey. The goal is that someday they will be one of us out there on the field and that they’ll look up and see someone wearing their jersey.”

Perhaps that someone will be Mia Hamm.

Sampras said: “I will never sit here and say I'm the greatest ever. I've done what I've done in the game. I've won a number of majors - I think that's kind of the answer to everything. Just the joy of playing the game, that I will miss."