The Charge's Heather Mitts, a star on the field and off, is just what the WUSA needed.
By Todd Zolecki
Inquirer Staff Writer

Heather Mitts the soccer player was ready to become Heather Mitts the actress.
ABC wanted Mitts, a defender for the Charge, Philadelphia's women's pro soccer team, to appear in an episode of the family sitcom My Wife and Kids.

Dressed in her Charge uniform, Mitts was to teach soccer to the youngest daughter of Michael Kyle, played by the show's star, Damon Wayans.

Her character? Heather Mitts.

"I was so excited," she said.

But a day or two before booking her flight to Hollywood last month - and just after she had received permission from Charge coach Mark Krikorian to miss practice - Mitts was notified that the script had been changed.

Her part had been cut.

"I was so mad," she said with a smile after a Charge practice last week. "I just never imagined being in this position. I never thought that this was supposed to be happening."

But it is.

Mitts, 23, is widely recognized as one of the emerging young stars in the Women's United Soccer Association, which will open its second season this week.

It is easy to see why. A talented, tenacious athlete capable of playing alongside such superstars as Mia Hamm and Brandi Chastain on the U.S. national team, Mitts also is so well-spoken and stunningly attractive that she is as valuable to the league as a spokeswoman as she is as a competitor. She is becoming the face of women's soccer in Philadelphia. And maybe even the face of the WUSA.

"It takes a lot of different variables to come together at the right time for somebody to make an impact off the field," said Mitts' agent, Dave Bober, who also represents Hamm, Charge midfielder Lorrie Fair, and other women's athletes.

"She has a nice combination of things that make her marketable. The obvious would be her looks. But she's a smart, attractive woman who's also a very, very good athlete. She has that unquantifiable thing that people are drawn to. You know as well as I do that certain people just radiate."

Mitts, who stands 5-foot-5, radiates. A University of Florida graduate from Cincinnati, she has a pleasant personality, natural friendliness and a warm smile that have helped make her an ambassador for women's soccer.

During an autograph session at the 76ers' game against the Phoenix Suns on Wednesday night at the First Union Center, fans walked by a table in the arena concourse, where Mitts and teammates Mandy Clemens and Mary-Frances Monroe were seated.

Heads turned as the women signed. Many of the autograph requests, not surprisingly, were for guys.

"A lot of people didn't know who we were last year," said Mitts, who is not married. "Even after the season was over, a lot of people would ask me, 'What do you do?' I play soccer for the Charge. 'The Charge who?'

"This year, people are more excited. I can tell that people are starting to recognize who we are and are excited about us being back for a second year."

The big crossover
Women's soccer players not on the U.S. national team do not make much money. And they do not have endorsement deals with shoe and apparel companies.
Despite having just two games' experience on the national team, Mitts just signed a two-year contract with Fila USA. She will represent the company's soccer division - she is the only women's soccer player Fila has under contract - and also will be used in campaigns for women's fitness. She is replacing Carla Overbeck, the captain of the U.S team.

With Fila, Mitts joins a stable of stars that includes Jennifer Capriati, Grant Hill and Barry Bonds.

"I'm really, really lucky," she said. "I'm the only female soccer player they have, so that means a lot."

So why Mitts? Why a player who is not yet a household name, not even in the Philadelphia area? Why a player known more for her ability to prevent goals than score them? (She had no goals and two assists last season for the Charge, who will open their new season Saturday in Atlanta.)

"When we signed Capriati three years ago, she had stopped playing tennis for two years," said Howe Burch, Fila USA's senior vice president of sports marketing. "She was ranked 140th in the world. We saw her as an up-and-comer in tennis. We see the same thing with Heather.

"We have Capriati in tennis, Grant Hill in basketball, Barry Bonds in baseball. And now we have Heather. They're all sort of attractive and stylish in their own way - as well as accomplished."

Mitts' contract with Fila is incentive-laden. She can earn bonuses for individual performance, team performance and marketing performance. For instance, she gets a bonus if she makes the cover of a magazine.

"Our athletes could be on the cover of GQ or Glamour as easily as they could be on the cover of Sports Illustrated," Burch said. "That's what we like about her."

Bober sees crossover potential for Mitts. A few months ago, he had Mitts, Fair and other clients make composite cards - or model cards - that have been sent to television and movie directors, businesses, etc.

"Last year, when I signed with [Bober], I was his only client not on the national team," Mitts said. "He said what he wanted to do with me was use me more in front of the camera, more in a modeling sense."

Selling the sport
At an LPGA players' summit in March, members resolved to pay more attention to their appearance as a way to build interest in women's golf. In women's tennis, the striking Anna Kournikova is probably the most widely recognized player despite the fact that she has never won a pro tournament.
Mitts has been asked about physical appearance and the promotion of the WUSA more and more recently, especially because of the LPGA's concern about appearance and Playboy magazine's asking female athletes to pose nude.

"I feel like you want to sell your sport," Mitts said. "To an extent, I think the athletes should be willing to do that. Obviously, we would like people to come out and watch us play. And if we can get them to a game, we think we can get them to come back. I think that's really the key to this league.

"I think the athletes should be open-minded and willing to help out - but tastefully."

So don't expect Mitts to do anything crazy.

"People ask, 'Do you think it's unfair that attractive female athletes are more marketable than less attractive athletes?' " Bober said. "My answer is that it's not a gender-specific issue.

"Whether it's sports, entertainment or even politics, your appearance has a measure of weight. It's why, when you go to the movies, your leading men and women are handsome and pretty. These aren't the rules that I created. This is a societal issue."

Mitts makes appearances, shakes hands, signs autographs, and talks to children. But it is important to note that every Charge player makes appearances on behalf of the team and the league.

Mitts has dated Phillies outfielder Pat Burrell. She is on TV and radio. There is a Web site - www.heathermitts.com - for her. And perhaps the most tangible sign of her growing popularity? The Charge have scheduled a Heather Mitts bobblehead doll promotion for June 8, when they will host Washington at Villanova Stadium.

Soccer comes first
Mitts has been a color analyst for Southeastern Conference women's soccer on the Sunshine Network and Fox Sports South. Television work, she said, is something she might like to pursue when her playing days end.
But even with all the marketing and promotional doors opening to her, Mitts remains a soccer player at heart. She has played the game since she was 6.

"I would never jeopardize my soccer career," she said. "When I was supposed to fly out and do My Wife and Kids, I said I didn't know if I would do it, because we were supposed to start practice that day.

"I don't like having anything interfere with soccer. When it comes down to the season and my goals, then there's basically nothing else that's going to get in the way."

That is because Mitts wants to win a championship with the Charge and play well enough to earn a spot on the national team.

"We think [Mitts] has the potential to be a regular on the national team," said Krikorian, the Charge's coach. "She's certainly athletic enough. She just needs to continue to work on her game. In the past year, she's improved by leaps and bounds."

And the more she improves, the bigger she will get.