Still Mythic Mia Hamm

(Associated Press)It was the sports bra seen all around the world. In 1999, US soccer player Brandi Chastain tore her shirt off when her goal sealed China’s defeat in the World Cup. Chastain’s “yes, I play like a girl’’ move is one of the most poignant in the history of women’s sports. And that win, by a team led by the still mythic Mia Hamm, turned soccer into the fastest-growing sport for girls.

But women’s soccer has lived under the shadow of Hamm and her team. The professional Women’s United Soccer Association is now defunct. The two World Cups since have been less than stellar performances by the US national team. The sport was simply stagnant.