Hope Spouts Eternal

In a twist from "An Essay on Man", we again see the loose cannon, Hope Solo.

I have written about this in the past with, "What Will Solo Do?", regarding her seeming inability to curb her virtual and actual tongue. I guess it is time again for a reminder.

She is at it again recently with her comments slamming Brandi Chastain stating in several tweets that Chastain (stats here) made in her role as analyst for the media while commenting on a WNT Olympic match.

Further, she recently has made recent comments regarding the lack of league in the US and would seem to figure if she whines loud enough a new women's league will suddenly appear to appease the 31 year old goalkeeper.

Don't get me wrong, she is a tremendous talent on the soccer field, I'm just not quite sure if Solo should be the spokeswoman for the USWNT. She can be somewhat ... polarizing ... to be kind.

Others have noted this recently too.

Julie Foudy (a former teammate of Chastain, and analyst for ESPN) took polite note of it in her reaction to Hope Solo's tweets.

Sally Jenkins writing for the Washington Post I think comes closer to reality with her piece of
"Hope Solo could learn a few things from Brandi Chastain".

Her comment regarding that both nature and Hope Solo abhor a vacuum, is particularly insightful, as is her conclusion in the article:

"The most disappointing aspect of Solo’s behavior is that it suggests she hasn’t learned as much as she could have from players like Chastain. The real inheritance from that squad wasn’t fame, or the chance to make a great living. It was a sense of mutual indebtedness, and a brand of solidarity that prevented these sorts of spats. There was a striking lack of ego; they weren’t particularly conscious of their stardom or specialness. It was their most pleasant quality. And Solo could do with a little of it."

I think Ms. Solo forgets she represents the US with her antics, silly tweets inclusive. For a 31 year old, she is stringily immature in this regard based on her comments and the context they are placed in.

Maybe it's the comments. Maybe it's the antics like showing up drunk on national TV. Maybe it is the "do as I say, not as I do" attitude when she is getting slapped for things like a positive drug test by the USADA. Heck not even Lance tested positive that much. (Where is her lifetime ban?)

At the end of the day, for me, I think we can do with a better role model, and spokeswoman for the Women's Game.

Enjoy the Gold Hope, then I hope you start growing up.