John Nieman
I retired in December of 2023. It’s funny. When you reach retirement, you tend to look back on those years of work and think about a lot of the mistakes you made. At least that’s how it’s been for me. Please don’t misunderstand. It’s not self-recrimination. Just observing some of the things that I might have done differently. I’m sure at some point I’ll be focusing on the good times and the good things. I have been very fortunate to have so many of those.
I say I find it kind of strange, because when I hear of other people retiring, I only think about all the good those people did.
And so it will be in how I remember the remarkable career of Anson Dorrance. It is certainly a tribute to his incredible success that most of the articles and features on his retirement focus mainly and almost exclusively on those successes. He was certainly one to inspire jealousy and even some resentment.
In this community I certainly don’t need to rehash the statistics. The national championships, world championships, world-class players. He was truly a world-class coach.
When I was living in Chapel Hill, I would tell people who were new to or who didn’t understand soccer to go watch the UNC women’s soccer team. Their performance was like a clinic in how the game should be played.
But one of the traits that made him such a great coach I would expect to also contribute to a tamping down of the tributes. Anson Dorrance was and probably still is the most arrogant human being I have ever known. Believe me, I say that with the greatest of admiration. Whether he truly felt it or not, he appeared to me to be the one person in this world who truly did not give a fig about what others thought of him. And if happenings around him were not contributing to his or his team’s goals, they held no interest for him. He required that people recognize his abilities as a coach and he required the respect and attention due, but from what I could see, he really didn’t care whether you liked him personally or not.
And, I believe, that arrogance was a major contribution to his success. When he took over the women’s program at UNC years ago, most coaches in women’s sports—particularly male coaches—treated the players with kid gloves and sensitivity. Anson treated his players and his opponents with ruthless determination. As most of you know, it got him into a spate of trouble, but he persevered and survived.
I’m fairly confident that, unlike me, Coach Dorrance is looking back on his remarkable career with a satisfied grin. And so he should.
I read one account where he responded to someone who was going to give a different account of a situation from him with, “who are they going to believe? The soccer field has my name on it.”
I believe the writer who reported this meant it to be a negative. With my knowledge of who Anson is, I can’t imagine him saying anything else. And, truth be told, if any of my four alma maters had named a field or a building or a bench or a bush after me, I would probably lead every comment with the same quote.
Regular readers of this space know that I idolize Coach Dean Smith. Throughout Anson’s career, he looked to Coach Smith for guidance. I would certainly not put the two of them at the same level, but it is a testimony to Anson’s intelligence.
I’ve been lucky enough to attend a couple of his speaking engagements in the past few years. If he wants, I hope he’s given an opportunity to do commentary on the women’s game. Absolutely, no one is more qualified.
Of course, if he does so and doesn’t completely shut Alexi Lalas up, all of the nice things I’ve said will be retracted.
Bona fortuna.
Alex Morgan also announced her retirement. She possessed both the fortune and the curse of being physically attractive. And like David Beckham, it tended to overshadow and lessen how people viewed her ability on the field. She was a great player on the field and she was—and I’m sure will continue to be a superlative ambassador to the game.
Just recently watched Canada defeat the US men’s national team in Kansas City. Bring on Pochettino!
But the biggest and best news in my life is that son Jeff has rejoined Dynamo! I just cannot wipe the smile off my face.
Retirement is doing the Index no good! Fat Boy Index: 290.