LYON, France — When 90,185 fans jammed into the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif., to revel in the United States’ heart-stopping victory over China for the 1999 Women’s World Cup title, it was hailed as a watershed moment.
Cheered by a cultlike following that grew each round of the tournament, Mia Hamm, Brandi Chastain and their teammates were shooting stars who seemed destined to put women’s soccer center-stage — and keep it there — for years to come.
Meantime, soccer-mad countries in Europe and South America yawned. Even in America, the mania over women’s soccer proved as fleeting as Reebok Pumps and Starter jackets.