The timing of the unveiling Wednesday of a Brandi Chastain statue outside the Rose Bowl could not have been better. Not only did the ceremony in Pasadena, Calif., take place on the 20th anniversary of the World Cup win by the 1999 U.S. women’s national team, it occurred as the current squad was celebrating its own recent triumph.
Chastain, 50, was on hand for the ceremony. Her statue, which honors the 1999 squad, shows her in her iconic pose on the Rose Bowl field after scoring on the penalty kick that beat China and clinched the championship.
Chastain had whipped her jersey off in jubilation, creating an indelible image.