OK, Im in. In for life.
The U.S. womens national soccer team, with its skill and its talent and its professionalism, made me the kind of fan I havent been since Doc and the Sixers.
To be clear: They dont need me. I need them.
I am sure I am not alone in this realization. I am sure there are millions of men like me, but millions of women, too; casual sports fans, or even non-sports fans. We already doted on Delran native Carli Lloyd, but over the last month we invested deeply in Alex Morgan and Tobin Heath and the marvelous Megan Rapinoe (its rah-PEA-no), and in their gritty supporting cast, and we fell in love with the idea of the team and with the spirit of the team and our lives are a little better.
I dont watch sports. For free. Ive covered dozens of big-time events Super Bowl and World Series, Stanley Cups and Olympics, Masters and U.S. Opens, but this is maybe the fifth sporting event Ive watched start-to-finish without being paid to do so. Why?