She seemed surprised at the hype around that moment back then but she’s come to accept it, evidenced by the title of her new book: It’s Not About the Bra. The subtitle gives us Chastain’s mission in the book: “How to Play Hard, Play Fair and Put the Fun Back into Competitive Sports.”
She wisely opens the book with the bra. In a preface entitled “They Call Me Hollywood,” she discusses the event and her nickname, given to her by Julie Foudy because, “you know, everything is so dramatic with Brandi.” With these two items of her fame out of the way, she is free to get to the heart of her message.
There is nothing profound to this book. Most of the nuggets of wisdom are well known, almost clichés. Consider some of the chapter titles: “One Good Service Deserves Another,” “Train Hard, Win Easy,” “You Kick Like a Girl (If You’re Lucky),” “Perspiration plus Inspiration…” you get the picture. The book remains interesting as Chastain uses anecdotes from her life and career in soccer to underscore these points. She also passionately tackles parent/player rage, women’s role in professional and school-sponsored sports, and soccer’s rising popularity in America.
Throughout the text are dribbled one or two page essays, germane to the topic at hand, from other well known figures from US women’s soccer including Shannon Boxx, Julie Foudy, Brianna Scurry, Kristine Lilly and, of course, Mia Hamm as well as Chastain’s brother, husband and step-son.
I would have enjoyed reading more about what she has done in life, for example she mentions that she spent two years playing on a team in Japan but she only touches on the experience as it is relevant to a point she was making. But then this isn’t a biography, it’s a sportsmanship manual.
Her target audience is young soccer players and their parents and, for what it is, this is a good book. The lessons, while simple, are worth repeating. If at times Chastain seems to talk down to the reader, it is forgivable as her general tone is one of humility and experience. She’s not afraid to discuss her failures as evidence of what not to do as well as her successes.
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