Brandi Chastain, the hero of the 1999 U.S. Women's World Cup team joins me on this weekend's edition of Sports Business Radio. Chastain is best known for her Nike bra-baring celebration after booting in the winning kick against China in the 1999 Women's World Cup (see video below). But Chastain and her U.S. soccer teammates like Mia Hamm and Julie Foudy have really been pioneers for women's sports in this country.

Yes, Billie Jean King is the person who broke down barriers initially and helped get Title IX passed, but Chastain and company made it hip for sponsors to pour dollars into women's sports. They made it hip for female athletes to have big time commercial endorsements. And they understood that they were role models and ambassadors for not only the sport of soccer but for women's sports in general.

Now we see equal prize money for men and women at Wimbledon. We see female athletes like Danica Patrick and Candice Parker competing with the men and securing lucrative endorsement deals. And the Women's Professional Soccer league will launch next April after several years of planning and securing stable owners and league sponsors.

Chastain also has another story to tell when she joins me. She's preparing for her first New York City Marathon. On Sunday, November 2, 2008, Chastain will partner with global financial services leader ING as they join nearly 40,000 participants for one of the world’s premier distance running events.  She will also serve as an ambassador for the ING Run for Something Better, a national program that promotes youth fitness and provides funding for free community and school-based running programs across the country.
 
During the marathon, Chastain will each wear a pair of ING’s signature orange shoelaces.  These laces are given to anyone who makes a charitable donation of $10 or more to the ING Run for Something Better cause.  ING’s orange laces are available at www.orangelaces.com.  Brandi will also raise money for the program through fundraising websites where fans can go to support their efforts.  These websites can be accessed at: www.orangelaces.com/nyc.

As the parent to a 3-year old daughter, its wonderful that women like Brandi Chastain are out doing the wonderful work that she is and providing many young girls and women with a terrific role model.

I look forward to chatting with Brandi this weekend.

We'll also discuss last Sunday's final game at Yankee Stadium and tell you about some of the items that are being sold from the historic stadium and how much they are being sold for.

Talk to you this weekend.