All the goals have been scored, the trophy has been lifted, confetti tossed and gobsmacking television ratings tabulated, and we have a small window of perspective on the 2015 Women's World Cup and the US women's national team that won it with such panache at BC Place on Sunday.
Under – or perhaps in spite of – the questionable stewardship of FIFA, this event continues to reach new heights with every edition, growing in size, quality and visibility. After chasing the legacy of their 1999 cup-winning predecessors for so long, the USWNT can feel proud to stand atop a women's soccer world dramatically larger, more evolved and more challenging than that of their forbearers.
In fact, the women's game is growing so rapidly, and the rest of the planet appears to be running down the United States' massive head start so quickly, that some of its gloomier observers have predicted this year's tournament could be the last for some time in which the USWNT are legitimate title contenders.
Coach Jill Ellis and her staff have other ideas, of course.
Large swathes of the world have indeed awakened to the thrill and beauty of this sport, where spirit, intelligence and technique go a long way. Even the minnows, who tend to face more obstacles and hardships than their male counterparts, roar every now and then. Last month Colombia upset title contenders France just one game after scoring their first-ever Women's World Cup goal.
That was just one happy byproduct of this year's historic expansion to 24 teams. While Germany's 10-0 thrashing of Cote d'Ivoire seemed to confirm fears of talent dilution, impressive performances from newcomers like Cameroon and the Netherlands soon underlined the value of opening up this party to a bigger guest list.
And many of the newcomers are skilful, cunning and tactically savvy despite limited resources and part-time players. Did you catch Colombia's Lady Andrade leading US defenders on a merry chase in the round of 16?
Many otherwise soccer-mad countries continue to shamefully neglect their women's programs – I'm looking at you here, Spain and Brazil – but if the overall growth continues anywhere near its current levels, the USWNT will have more company at the top of the heap soon enough.
Yet the United States' institutional advantages remain enormous. Most statistics suggest that
the number of girls and women playing organized soccer in this country is equal to or greater the rest of the world combined
, and the groundbreaking gender-equity provisions of Title IX have fostered hundreds of college programs that now far outnumber those on the men's side.
USWNT players are full-time employees of U.S. Soccer, with substantial salaries and cutting-edge gear and technology underwritten by consistently strong ticket and merchandise sales. The team's biggest stars make further millions in sponsorship revenue.
The federation even took it upon themselves to conceive, operate and subsidize the National Women's Soccer League, a professional competition intended as a proving ground for current and future national teamers. (NWSL supporters have rightly been aggrieved, however, to see barely a mention of the league, much less active promotion of it, from the fed this past month. Go watch some NWSL games anyway.)
So even as the competition gets tougher, the USWNT has every opportunity to build a dynasty in the coming years. Next summer they'll travel to Rio de Janeiro in search of their fourth consecutive Olympic gold medal; they've won gold in four of the five women's soccer tournaments to date, and took silver in the other one (2000).
Much attention has been paid of late to the changing of the US guard, as long-serving soliders like Abby Wambach and Christie Rampone reach the final stages of their illustrious careers. But that gives short shrift to the impressive talent rising through the system, chomping at the bit to gain a place at the table.
Julie Johnston, age 23, was named to the shortlist for this tournament's Golden Ball award, while her former US U-20 teammate Morgan Brian transformed the American midfield when she was finally given a chance to fill the No. 6 role in the knockout stages. They are only the most prominent examples of a new wave marked by cleaner technical skills and higher soccer IQs than their elders.
“When I made the national team – if I was 26 and that same person now, I don't know if I would've made it,” said 38-year-old veteran Shannon Boxx back in May. “The level has just improved so much, the technical side.”
The effects of this evolution are already apparent. When Wambach was benched to better accommodate a 4-2-3-1 shape anchored by Brian after the USWNT's underwhelming group-stage outings, the Yanks quickly assumed the look of the all-conquering powerhouse their fans had been waiting to see. They kept the ball better, they circulated it quicker and their collective confidence soared.
So why not aspire to produce prolonged dominance with this modern, proactive style? Even if the enormous, record-setting audiences of this summer don't hang around to watch every single friendly or demand US broadcasts of events like the Algarve Cup, why not play a brand of soccer that we've seen these past two games: pretty enough to impress even the purists, and effective enough to sweep aside the world's No. 1 (Germany) and the defending WWC champs (Japan).
That is the real test awaiting Ellis now. While her USMNT counterpart Jurgen Klinsmann often speaks of “the next level” but usually leaves the question of ascension in the future tense, Ellis & Co. can climb up to theirs right now.
As soon as they're done with the well-deserved vacations and champagne afterglows, of course.
