BRACE FOR THE PAPARAZZI

Remember when women soccer players could go out for a bite and not be hassled by adoring fans?

“Now we have people following our bus, we’re getting standing ovations in the stadium,” U.S. forward Michelle Akers said. “We feel like a professional sport at last, and we are excited.”

Akers, who lives in Central Florida, has become a celebrity in Orlando, one of the sites for Olympic soccer.

“I go to a movie, and people ask for autographs,” she said. “I go to make a bank deposit, they ask for my autograph. I buy a bagel somewhere, and they run after me in the parking lot. It’s crazy. And I love it.”