Brandi Chastain (#6) tears off her uniform top and cheers after scoring the winning shootout goal for the US Women’s World Cup Soccer team at the Rose Bowl in 1999. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)
One of women’s sports’ most iconic moments will be memorialized at the Rose Bowl 20 years after it happened.
It was at the Pasadena stadium that Brandi Chastain shot a left-footed penalty kick that took the U.S. national team to victory in the 1999 Women’s World Cup final against China.
Chastain’s post-shootout celebration came to symbolize the win and a leap forward for women’s athletics — she ripped off her jersey in the way a male soccer player would and fell to her knees with her arms flexed, all in front of an audience of more than 90,000 at the stadium known best for hosting the football game known as “The Granddaddy of Them All.”
The U.S. team celebrates after teammate Brandi Chastain kicked the game-winning overtime penalty shootout goal against China giving the U.S. a 5-4 victory.
Brandi Chastain, right, jumps into the arms of teammate Carla Overbeck, captain of the U.S. Women’s World Cup Soccer team, after defeating China at the Rose Bowl in 1999. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)
U.S. women’s soccer player Brandi Chastain celebrates after scoring the winning kick during the overtime penalty shootout.
Brandi Chastain (#6) tears off her uniform top and cheers after scoring the winning shootout goal for the U.S. Women’s World Cup soccer team at the Rose Bowl in 1999. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)
Brandi Chastain, who has helped the U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team win Olympic gold medals and two Women’s World Cups, signs autographs for AYSO players at the Marriott in Torrance, CA on Monday, June 30, 2014. The AYSO is kicking off their national games this week in Torrance and Riverside. (Photo by Scott Varley, Daily Breeze/SCNG)
Brandi Chastain, who has helped the U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team win Olympic gold medals and two Women’s World Cups, signs autographs for AYSO players at the Marriott in Torrance, CA on Monday, June 30, 2014. The AYSO is kicking off their national games this week in Torrance and Riverside. (Photo by Scott Varley, Daily Breeze/SCNG)
United States’ Brandi Chastain (6) heads the ball behind Costa Rica’s Martha Chavez during the second half of their Women’s World Cup friendly, Monday, Sept. 1, 2003, in Carson, Calif. The United States won 5-0. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
USA’s Heather O’Reilly right, celebrates with teammates Brandi Chastain, left, and Heather Mitts, after scoring the game winning goal against Germany in a women’s semifinal soccer match at the Pankritio stadium during the 2004 Olympic Games in Heraklion on the Greek island of Crete on Monday, Aug. 23, 2004. Team USA won 2-1 and advances to the final. (AP Photo/ Yiorgos Papanikolaou)
Brandi Chastain, right, of the U.S.A goes for the ball against Mio Otani of Japan in the women’s Olympic quarter final soccer match at the Kaftanzoglio stadium in Thessaloniki, Greece, Friday, Aug. 20, 2004. (AP Photo/Diether Endlicher)
USA’s players from left: Jullie Foudy, Joy Fawcett, Mia Hamm, Kristine Lilly, Brandi Chastain are seen during the medal ceremony after the gold medal women’s soccer game between USA and Brazil for the Athens 2004 Olympics at the Karaiskaki stadium in Athens, on Thursday Aug. 26, 2004. USA won 2-1. (AP Photo/Kevork Djansezian)
Defender Brandi Chastain stops a ball during a training session of the United States women’s soccer national team Friday, March 19 2004, in Montechoro, southern Portugal. The U.S. will play Norway in Saturday’s final of the Algarve Cup. (AP Photo/Armando Franca)
Brandi Chastain directs her teammates during training camp for the U.S. women’s national soccer team in Chula Vista, Calif., Friday, Aug. 22, 2003. (AP Photo/Denis Poroy)
Defender Brandi Chastain heads the ball during a drill at training camp for the U.S. Women’s National soccer team at the Arco Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista, Calif. Thursday, Aug. 21, 2003. (AP Photo/Denis Poroy)
United States’ Mia Hamm (9), Brandi Chastain (6) and Kristine Lilly celebrate their win against Canada in the third place match of the 2003 Women’s World Cup Saturday, Oct. 11, 2003, in Carson, Calif. The United States won 3-1. (AP Photo/Kevork Djansezian)
United States’ Brandi Chastain (6) consoles teammate Mia Hamm after losing 3-0 to Germany in the 2003 Women’s World Cup semifinals Sunday, Oct. 5, 2003 at PGE Park in Portland, Ore. (AP Photo/Joe Cavaretta)
Members of the USA soccer team pose at RFK Stadium in Washington Sunday, Sept. 21, 2003 prior to their first round match against Sweden in the 2003 Women’s World Cup. Back row, from left are, Joy Fawcett, Kate Sobrero, Julie Foudy, Brandi Chastain, Cindy Parlow and Briana Scurry, Front row, from left are, Abby Wambach, Christie Pearce, Shanno Boxx, Mia Hamm and Kristine Lilly. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
USA’s Cindy Parlow (12) and fellow teammates Brandi Chastain (6) and Julie Foudy (11) celebrate Parlow’s goal in the first half of their first-round game against Sweden, Sunday, Sept. 21, 2003 at the 2003 Women’s World Cup at RFK Stadium in Washington. (AP Photo/Lawrence Jackson)
U.S. Women’s World Cup team member Brandi Chastain kicks the ball during practice Sunday, Aug. 31, 2003, at the Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif. (AP Photo/Chris Carlson)
San Jose CyberRays’ Brandi Chastain, right, and Katia react to a missed goal attempt by Chastain against the Washington Freedom during the first half Saturday, April 19, 2003, at Spartan Stadium in San Jose, Calif. (AP Photo/San Jose Mercury News, Nhat V. Meyer)
San Jose CyberRays forward Brandi Chastain, left, and Atlanta Beat defender Kylie Bivens, right, vie for the ball in the first half of their WUSA game in San Jose, Calif., in this July 10, 2002 photo. (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma)
San Jose CyberRays soccer star Brandi Chastain is shown during a news conference in Carson, Calif., Thursday, May 13, 2004, during which the Women’s United Soccer Association unveiled the details of the upcoming WUSA Soccer Festival. (AP Photo/Nick Ut)
American All-Stars’ Brandi Chastain celebrates her goal during the first half of the WUSA All-Star game against the World All-Stars at SAS Stadium in Cary, N.C. Thursday, June 19, 2003.(AP Photo/Bob Jordan)
Rose Bowl officials are commissioning a sculpture memorializing the celebratory image planned to be completed by July 10, 2019, the 20th anniversary of the game. Behind Chastain’s likeness will be a wall depicting her teammates. The piece will be located just east of the stadium’s sculpture of Jackie Robinson and adjacent to youth sports fields.
“The location is critical — more so than ever — it’s a spot where hundreds of children over the weekends play soccer,” Rose Bowl board member Lisa Stevens said. “Now they’ll have the opportunity to walk upon that statue and that story and see what came before them.”
The celebratory moment was featured prominently in the media. The photo appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated and the magazine in 2014 named the cover its second-most iconic, after “Miracle on Ice” from the 1980 Winter Olympics.
“Unless you’re a woman, you don’t really get how powerful that moment was,” Councilwoman Margaret McAustin said before the council voted Monday to advance the plan. “It was shown over and over and over on TV and because it was televised, it allowed it to become this kind of universally shared experience for women and girls.”
The statue will be paid for with donations from U.S. Soccer, American Youth Soccer Organization Region 13 and other local private donors. In conjunction with the statue’s unveiling, Rose Bowl officials plan to host a Women’s Empowerment Symposium for youth.
The piece will be sculpted by Brian Hanlon, who created the Robinson statue.
City Council members said they were excited about the statue, but several took issue with the way the Rose Bowl approached it. The stadium is city-owned and run by a city-chartered company, giving it some leeway in operating independently.
Vice Mayor John Kennedy said he’d like to see a more formal set of guidelines the Rose Bowl uses to decide which figures are honored by statues. McAustin and Mayor Terry Tornek said the council should have been involved sooner, not mere months before the statue would be unveiled.
