Carli Lloyd and U.S women win a World Cup for all of us

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The 1999 Women's World Cup will be remembered for Brandi Chastain's sports bra. For Mia Hamm. For "girl power." For bringing women's soccer -- and soccer in general -- into the mainstream American consciousness.

It was absolutely, positively all of those things.

The 2015 World Cup (until the U.S. men win one, we can call theirs the "Men's World Cup") will be remembered for Carli Lloyd (South Jersey represent!) leading a really great team that put it all together in one of the most dominating and entertaining performances you've ever seen.

Change is slow. But the differences between Sunday night's amazing U.S. win over Japan and that 1999 victory over China could not be more vast.

In 1999, we -- rightly or wrongly -- said "you go girls!" to a team of incredible athletes that won its sport's biggest title on its biggest stage.

That event was illustrated by scores of young girls with painted faces in the crowd. Not to mention soccer moms finally watching a sport their daughters were just starting to play, and men who had never in their life watched the game learning how to cheer for "a bunch of girls" without feeling too awkward.

This time around, those young face-painted girls are now young working professionals, mothers and even members of the current roster (aside from captain Christie Rampone, who appeared on both squads).

If the 1999 World Cup was an important one for young girls to watch, then the 2015 World Cup was for the boys.

Specifically, it was for the young boys -- like my 3 1/2-year-old son -- who is growing up in a world where few will bat an eye at a boy wearing Carli Lloyd's No. 10 shirt. And where "play like a girl" is a compliment.

They -- and I -- will remember one of the most entertaining sports months I've ever seen, capped by a game that will go down in history.

Not women's soccer history. Not soccer history. Not women's sports history.

Just history.

In the last month, the general public -- not to mention the always picky and decidedly male-dominated sports media -- has picked apart the United States team and its performance.

The coach didn't know what she was doing. The aging star was calling the shots. That same star was running her mouth. Should they play a 4-4-2, or a 4-3-3? Should the starting goalie even be on the roster after her off-field transgressions?

In other words: Typical sports stuff.

And that has been incredibly refreshing.

The discussion around Abby Wambach's role on the roster and her inability to say the right thing, while frustrating, still made me smile. Because it was the exact same discussion we had about Landon Donovan entering last summer's World Cup. Ten years ago, if you talked about whether Wambach should start or not, you'd hear some variation of "aww but she deserves it, she's so sweet." Fans, even subconsciously, would be hoping things worked out for her because she'd probably cry if she sat on the bench. 

Sure, emotions are part of sports fandom, and Wambach seems like a lovely person, but she is one of 23 athletes on an incredibly deep roster. So the ability to talk about her status solely by asking "is the team better with her on the bench?" is not something we should take for granted. 

And guess what? She even admitted the same thing.

Sure, your obnoxious uncle or cousin you ran into at the 4th of July BBQ will spout the "aww, they're just girls" attitude. Or you'll get the inevitable "yeah but how would they do against the men's team?" Whether they use those words or not, everyone knows someone in that camp.

The difference now: Your Uncle Joe is vastly outnumbered.

There are still plenty of people who are sexist. Just as there are plenty of racists and homophobes. But with every day that goes by, those people -- while not necessarily changing their minds -- at the very least learn that it's not socially acceptable to voice those views in public. Or, most importantly, in front of their children. 

And that is how change happens.

Of course, change is never absolute. There was still a respected Sports Illustrated staffer belittling women's sports. Alex Morgan is still famous as much for her skimpy bikini as her soccer skills. And FIFA still felt the absurd need to use Borgata waitresses to carry the winner's medals.

But there seemed to be far fewer "Hottest Players of the World Cup!" slideshows. Morgan Brian's nasty head-to-head-collision invoked the same concussion debate we've been having in men's sports, and not a discussion about whether she's "as tough as a man." The crowd reaction shots from bars and parties around the country could have easily been confused for the men's World Cup.

My son isn't really old enough to understand what he's watching. But he likes to clap and he likes when I jump off the couch and yell "GOAL!" like I did four times before he went to bed Sunday night. 

He probably won't remember watching it when he gets older, but he will have the shirt we already ordered for him. And if he does remember it, I hope he thinks about it as just another fun time watching sports with his dad. 

This team proved it's OK to have the same enthusiasm for women's sports as men's. And that means making the same jokes, same comments and same criticisms. For too long, it was not only OK to cheer female athletes, but it was expected you did so uncondtionally. And if you jeered them, you were sexist.

Guess what? As long as you're jeering because of their play on the field (or even their bad decisions off of it) -- and not their gender -- that's exactly what any female athlete would want. It's OK to say "Hope Solo is a punk" while respecting how great she is as a goalkeeper in the same way it's acceptable to dislike Adrian Peterson as a person but still hope he helps your fantasy team.

The first thing I did after Sunday night's game was go online and see if I could order Julie Johnston's #19 shirt with 3 stars above the crest to signify three World Cup titles

It's not because she is Zach Ertz's girlfriend (a fact I actually only learned last week, somehow). Not because she's "hot" or "funny" or was featured in the Swimsuit Issue.

I want it not only because I've worn an outdated men's team jersey for every game of this World Cup, but because I'm a former defender who pays close attention to defense. And Johnston is an absolute force on the backline for the current World Cup champions.

But, alas, I don't have a jersey on the way just yet, because of an ironic turn I'm sure will draw a good laugh from my female sports fan friends.

It's not yet available in a men's cut.

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