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ERIK S. LESSER / AP
Michelle
Akers kisses Stormy, at her farm in Powder Springs, Ga. Akers was set
to sell soccer memorabilia to pay for repairs caused by flooding.
ERIK S. LESSER / AP
ERIK S. LESSER / AP
Michelle Akers, showing her Olympic gold, got aid from friends to help offset costs from flooding.
Don't let the wreath welcoming visitors to her eight-acre farm fool
you. Michelle Akers won't be consumed with traditional motherly worries
this holiday season. Instead of wrapping presents and looking out for Santa with
4-year-old son Cody, one of the greatest players in women's soccer
history will be gathering horses and warily watching weather reports.
Record September flooding in Georgia, where she now lives, killed five
and forced the governor to declare a state of emergency in 17 counties. More rain is expected this weekend, according to the national
weather service. Flooding has caused more than $50,000 worth of damage
to Akers' farm in Cobb County.
That's the scene of her newest passion: Horse Rescue and Outreach,
Inc. Akers, 43, and her husband moved to the farm last fall and made it
a home for their nonprofit venture rescuing horses. Now she watches the rain and worries about her horses. "Every time it rains, it's like 'Oh, boy!' and the farm floods,"
said Akers, who graduated from Shorecrest High School in Shoreline
before leading the U.S. to the pivotal 1999 Women's World Cup title. "My shovel has seen a lot of action these past months. It's
craziness. They were in a drought for a few years before this, but I
don't think we've had two weeks of dry weather here."
Akers began rescuing horses in 2008. Zoe, a 30-year-old black mare,
was the first. The former owner tried to bury the emaciated mare alive
in 100-degree heat when he couldn't get her to her feet. Akers now has four rescues, enjoying rides on Stormy and Thunder and
showing off Handsome, who was calmest during the first September flood.
Water reached Akers' waist, but the aging horses followed her to safety
at daybreak. "It was really scary," said Akers, who watched the water rise
overnight with a flashlight. "It's a lot to say of the trust the horses
and I have the relationship. They just did what I asked. Their stalls
were filling up with water and they just looked at me like, 'We should
be leaving.' "
Akers doesn't have flood insurance or extra cash to to rebuild. The financial strain caused Akers to gather cherished memorabilia
from her storied soccer career to sell. She was ready to offer an
autographed ball from the '99 Women's World Cup, a signed jersey from
Pel้ and other items until former coaches and teammates stopped her. "She wasn't sure which direction to go or who to ask. It's not her
nature," said former national team coach Tony DiCicco. "She lost sight
that she is a special person in many people's eyes, so when I heard she
was struggling, I sent something out. There has been a tremendous
response."
DiCicco coaches the Boston Breakers, the Women's Professional Soccer
(WPS) team that gave 100 percent of gross sales for 2010 season-ticket
purchases between Dec. 10-18 to the Michelle Akers Horse Rescue and
Outreach. That raised $3,100. DiCicco also reached out to former
players, and among those responding were Mia Hamm and Julie Foudy.
Mike Lyons, an assistant coach from Sky Blue FC, plans to bring a
crew to the farm this weekend to help install concrete flooring and
strengthen a makeshift levy Akers built. "It's incredibly humbling," Akers said. "I almost feel I don't want
it because I feel there's so many other people that need help and other
horse rescuers that need help. We're pretty beat up, but no one's
dying, yet. And it has to be to that point before I ask for help."
Akers bought her first horse, Vinnie, the year of the 1996 Olympic
Games in Atlanta. As a child, she was mesmerized by the movie "The
Black Stallion" and never lost her love for horses as she grew up. A member of the National Soccer Hall of Fame, she retired from
soccer in 2000 second to Hamm as the national team's all-time leading
goal scorer. The WPS, in its second year, also renamed its MVP trophy after Akers
this season, making Brazilian star Marta the first recipient. In
January the league plans to hold an auction of its first-year
memorabilia and all-star game to raise funds for Akers. "Michelle Akers was the first and only soccer player I looked up
to," said Olympic goalkeeper Hope Solo, who plays for the St. Louis
Athletica. "She was very underrated and a Cinderella player for the
team. Just an incredible person."
And a person who can't believe that others are willing to lend her a hand as she tries to save helpless animals. "It's hard to take it without giving something. People are donating
$5 or $25, they're hurting and I don't want to put my burden on
others," Akers said. "At the same time, I'm so grateful that they're
willing to help. I feel joy when I help people, and I guess it's my
turn."
Troubled waters: Soccer great Akers now rescues abused horses, but floods threaten dream
PAUL NEWBERRYAP Sports Writer
December 17, 2009 | 7:42 a.m.
POWDER SPRINGS, Ga. (AP) Michelle Akers tilts her head to one side
and urges the old horse to show off her new trick. The one she learned
after being snatched away from a life of abuse and neglect.
"Come on, Zoe," the former soccer standout says. "Be cute."
On cue, the black mare jerks her head to the left, mimicking her owner,
then gobbles up a handful of peppermint treats as her reward.
"There's something divine about them," Akers said, breaking into a
contented smile. "Horses choose you. You have to earn it. You have to
prove it to them every day. You have to get them to say, 'You're cool.
I like you. I want to be with you.' When it happens, it's like, 'Oh my
gosh, this is awesome.'"
It's a thrill one of the greatest
stars in U.S. soccer history has been seeking since she retired from
competition, turning her competitive passion to rescuing abused horses.
"I beef 'em up, love on 'em, then adopt them out," she explains.
Now her dream is in danger of being washed away.
Record flooding in Georgia has left her with some $50,000 in damages to
her eight-acre farm, forcing Akers to auction off some of the
memorabilia from her storied international career to pay for the
repairs.
"This stuff just becomes unimportant when compared to
my horses and the ones who are suffering," Avers told The Associated
Press. "I'm like, 'Oh my God, I've got to do something. I can't just
sit here and say I don't have any money when I have something I can do
to help."
Akers scored 105 goals in 153 games for the U.S.
national team. She was a pivotal member of a groundbreaking group that
captured two World Cup titles and the first women's soccer gold medal
in Olympic history at the 1996 Atlanta Games.
When Akers
retired nine years ago, she began rescuing horses with the same
determination she had put into one of her shots. One horse saved. Then
another. And another. Soon, Akers realized that she needed more room
than her central Florida home, leading her to buy an eight-acre spread
in the sprawling suburbs northwest of Atlanta, where rolling pastures
mix with cul-de-sacs.
Less than two months after Akers and her horses moved in, the floodwaters did, too.
___
On a cold, dreary, damp morning, Akers looks toward the threatening skies with apprehension.
There have been far too many days like this since she arrived in
Georgia. Torrential showers keep pouring down as if the clouds have
mistaken Dixie for a tropical rain forest.
"Uh oh, we'll be flooding again tonight," she said.
Her troubles began in late September with the arrival of a
once-every-century storm. Akers didn't have flood insurance. Why would
she? She didn't even live in a flood plain. But her low-lying land was
especially vulnerable when the devastating system settled over north
Georgia.
A nearby creek spilled over its banks, and suddenly
the drainage ditches cutting through Akers' property were overflowing.
The water started to rise, and it didn't stop until her pastures were
covered and only the top half of the barn was visible from the cozy
family home, which sits atop a small hill. All four of Akers' horses
including 30-year-old Zoe, who was rescued a couple of years ago and
wound up staying were hustled off to higher ground.
When the
waters receded, Akers was stunned by the damage. The pristine pastures
were a muddy mess. Eighty bales of hay she had stored in the barn were
ruined. And every time the storms returned, as they have so often over
the past three months, her land quickly filled again.
"I wanted to throw up," she said. "I'm still finding stuff in trees and the woods."
Akers has already spent thousands trying to keep the waters away from
the barn, constructing a makeshift levy out of wood and stone. But the
full damage is far more severe, estimated at some $50,000. She and her
husband are still trying to sell their Florida home, so money is tight
for the family, which also includes 4-year-old son Cody.
Drastic times call for drastic measures. Akers began sifting through
the momentos of her soccer career autographed jerseys, signed balls,
one-of-a-kind pictures and decided it was time to sell.
Framed jerseys, including one autographed by Pele. The ball she used to
score her 100th career goal. The cleats she was wearing when the U.S.
won its memorable World Cup title at the Rose Bowl a decade ago. Gaudy
rings she earned at the World Cup and the Olympics. Even a Wheaties box
with her on the front.
She hopes that an auction will cover
most of the costs of the flood. She hopes to hang on to a few of her
most precious items including her gold medal from the '96 Olympics
but isn't ruling anything out.
"All this stuff is very cool. It
brings back a lot of memories," Akers said. "But when I'm out there"
she adds, motioning toward her pastures "I know that's just way, way
more important."
___
At 43, Akers doesn't
look much different from she did on the soccer field, still sporting
that familiar curly brown hair and trim body. But she bears the
inevitable scars of a long career: an aching shoulder, a painful right
knee that requires a brace when she's working and will likely have to
be replaced one day.
"It's a mess in there," Akers said. "Just bone on bone."
But her pain pales alongside the unspeakable mistreatment she has seen
horses starved, horses beaten, horses subjected to random acts of
violence that defy explanation. Zoe was rescued from an owner who had
attempted to bury another horse alive.
"There's more abuse now
because of the economy," she said. "There's more pressure in day-to-day
living: people losing their jobs, being short on money."
This
love of horses goes all the way back to her childhood, when Akers read
"The Black Stallion" and dreamed of having one of her own. Soccer came
first, though, and most of her teammates on the U.S. national team
didn't even know about her other desire as they crisscrossed the globe,
winning championships and tearing down barriers against female athletes.
"We used to give her a hard time about her tight jeans and those big
belt buckles," former teammate Brandi Chastain said, "but we didn't
know she had this vision to do a horse rescue."
In 1996, the
year of the Atlanta Olympics, Akers got her first horse. She now has
Handsome, a tan Palomino; an appropriately named mother-son duo, Stormy
and Thunder; and, of course, Zoe.
___
Akers' old friends and teammates aren't surprised that she's willing to
sell off the remnants of a career well played to help her horses.
"She was an incredibly passionate soccer player, someone who had more
determination and drive and encouragement than most people you come
across," Chastain said. "I understand why she'd be willing to use those
momentoes as a way to help her horses survive and thrive. I'm very
proud of her for making that decision."
Maybe she won't have
to. Even though Akers left soccer in the rearview mirror asked if she
misses it, she quickly replies, "Not for a second" the tight-knit
sport has rallied to her cause.
Her old coach, Tony DiCicco,
heard of Akers' auction plans and began a fundraising effort through
his current job with the Boston Breakers, a team in the Women's
Professional Soccer league.
"There has got to be a better way
than this," DiCicco wrote on the team's Web site. "Michelle is going
through a difficult time and needs some assistance and if you know
Mich, she is not going to ask for any help."
DiCicco and
Breakers general manager Andy Crossley both made personal donations.
The organization pitched in, too, announcing any money raised through
season ticket sales by Friday would be donated fully to Akers' horse
rescue group.
In addition, WPS is planning to sell off
autographed memorabilia from its inaugural all-star and championship
games to raise money for Akers. Even though she never played in the
fledgling league, of course, the MVP award is named in her honor.
"Michelle Akers is a legend not only in the world of women's soccer,
but soccer in general," said Robert Penner, a league spokesman. "She
left it all out on the field. She deserves for soccer fans to recognize
not only all she did when she played, but what she's doing now with her
horse rescue farm. The dedication she showed to soccer is now showing
in another walk of life."
Akers' house is ready for Christmas.
A wreath hangs on the gate. Two lighted reindeer stand in the front
yard. The tree in the living room is filled with ornaments.
Maybe Santa will bring her what she wants most of all: a thick, grassy
field for her horses to run and, more important, a world that treats
these majestic animals with the respect they deserve.
"I get so
much out of it," Akers said. "OK, I'm doing something good for them.
But it's really like they're doing more for me. I want to help other
people get to the same kind of relationship with their horses."
