Look around you: its a brisk fall night in early October, and youre standing in a stadium packed with painted faces, flickering flashbulbs, and fluttering American flags. An ESPN truck stationed near the entrance broadcasts the scene of euphoric fans pouring down praise upon the playing field and lifting up chants of glory as the star player pumps their fist into the air. Can you guess where you are? No, this isnt Yankee stadium, those arent the Bronx Bombers making another postseason run, and that wasnt shortstop, Derek Jeter, signaling triumph. Its Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, Mass., and the U.S. womens national soccer team has just defeated Norway 1-0 on their march into the Womens World Cup semifinals. And over there, that American soccer idol with her arms raised in the air, thats Sports Illustrated cover girl Mia Hamm the face of a sport for a generation and the obsession of every 12-year old girl with a soccer ball and a dream.
