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Michelle Akers definitely wasn't having a great start to her week. The 34-year-old award-winning soccer player on the U.S. women's national soccer team had just returned home from an emergency doctor's visit for a dislocated shoulder when I rang her doorbell Monday morning. Michelle—her right shoulder in an immobilizer sling—gamely welcomed me into her suburban Orlando home despite the discomfort of her injury, displaying the kind of gritty fortitude that's made her the champion she is.
One of the brightest soccer stars today, Michelle, the curly-haired, aggressive midfielder from Seattle, Washington, has helped lead her teammates to victories in two Women's World Cup championships (in 1991 and in the heart-stopping, history-making win against China in 1999), as well as the Olympic Gold Medal in Atlanta in 1996. And her team's going for the gold once again this September in Sydney, Australia, at the Summer Olympic Games (at press time, Michelle remains optimistic that despite her shoulder injury, she'll be on the team roster and able to compete).
A three-time All-American in high school, Michelle went on to earn All-American honors throughout her college soccer career. Since then, Michelle's accolades include several firsts: the first woman athlete to gain a corporate endorsement, representing Umbro athletic sportswear, and the first woman ever to receive the Federation of International Football Association's (FIFA) Order of Merit. In addition, in 1998, Michelle was named Women's Player of the Century by CONCACAF (the Confederation of North Central American & Caribbean Association Football), and she's considered by many to be one of the greatest female athletes of all time. Not only has Michelle graced the cover of Sports Illustrated, but she's been the subject of numerous other magazine articles and several books.
It's obvious Michelle's performance on the playing field has been impressive. But what's even more impressive is the way she's tackled her biggest off-field opponent. In 1994, after enduring three years of unexplained, debilitating weakness and fatigue, Michelle was diagnosed with Chronic Fatigue Immune Dysfunction Syndrome (CFIDS), a disorder characterized by body-numbing exhaustion and a host of other symptoms that can resemble lupus, mononucleosis, or fibromyalgia. In her recent autobiography, The Game and the Glory (Zondervan), Michelle readily admits it was this crippling illness that helped to quicken the deterioration of her four-year marriage and her ability to play soccer with the intensity she'd always enjoyed. Forced to reassess her life, she returned to the faith in Christ she'd professed as a teen.
Since that turning point, Michelle's combination of sheer grit, determination, and faith in God has helped her push through her limitations to continue to compete and to become an advocate for CFIDS sufferers, even testifying before Congress in 1996 about her own experience. But beyond that, Michelle's success as a world-class athlete in the internationally loved sport of soccer provides her with an amazing platform from which to talk about her relationship with Christ. In this exclusive interview, she talks openly about the challenges of living with a chronic illness, her passion to use her platform to change lives, and her faith in God.
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