As we head into the second half of 2015, there are some amazing sports story lines already on the board.
There was American Pharoah winning the Triple Crown. There was DeflateGate leading nightly newscasts on ABC as well as ESPN. There are Grand Slams in play for Serena Williams and Jordan Spieth.
United States' Abby Wambach, right, gets a kiss from her wife, Sarah Huffman, after the U.S. beat Japan 5-2 in the FIFA Women's World Cup soccer championship in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, Sunday, July 5, 2015.And as intriguing as those have been, they are yawn-worthy compared to the drama of the U.S. women's national soccer team.
The women put an overwhelming exclamation point on a dominant World Cup run with a 5-2 win over Japan in the final Sunday. It was a chance to see the best that sports can be - poetic, exhilarating, joyous, proud and victorious.
Even the most indifferent soccer fan could not help but be fascinated, and the match could not have played out better for the sport. The knock against soccer has been a lack of offense, and the lightning-fast start that generated a strong lead and a hat trick for Carli Lloyd was extremely cool to everyone, be they soccer fans or sports fans or simply Americans.
It was fun to watch, especially in public. Hey, that may be a big part of why the World Cup is so enjoyable: We all are rooting for the same side.
There were no arguments about the flag. Everyone was waving the Stars and Stripes.
The debates about gay marriage or ObamaCare or Greece's failing financials were all quiet.
In a country that is becoming more and more divisive with each passing issue, the Women's World Cup gave us the perfect antidote.
There were 11 American women, at a time, playing and succeeding at the highest level imaginable. There were no red states or blue states, just a simple state of red, white and blue for all of us.
We were all on the same team. We were all so deeply invested that grown-ups gleefully dressed in superhero costumes and cried tears of passionate celebration. We high-fived strangers at restaurants and joined in as mini "U-S-A! U-S-A!" chants cascaded off the walls of places ranging from downtown bars to kids' rooms in the quietest neighborhoods.
The World Cup will be the only soccer most of us will watch on TV this year. Heck, the overnight ratings were around 15, meaning the women's final drew more than double than last year's World Series.
And most of that 15 rating will not watch until the next World Cup, but maybe that's what makes this even more special. Like a fine wine or a Daniel Day-Lewis movie, the elongated time between the next rendition only makes it sweeter.
Still, it's the group effect that joins us together, and when have we needed that more than right now?
There's also the rarified place of Americans being the underdog, especially on the men's side.
If you believe this is the start of the soccer revolution, we for the first time can see that rationale. Soccer is made for the short-attention generation. It's over in less than two hours. The importance of focus - normally, there's only a goal or three - means fans must pay attention.
There are no commercials, a fact that can't be undersold in a sports culture that is determined by television.
Plus, the younger generation not only grew up playing soccer, they grew up playing the soccer video game, which means they understand the rules, the language and even the international stars of the sport.
And if you want to dismiss that as a coincidence among the younger generations, know that EA Sports quit making college basketball video games about a decade ago and that sport is starting to languish. Yes, college hoops' problems are plentiful, but that's among them.
But let's tap the brakes a little on the soccer revolution. It's still at least a decade away. Soccer's non-international options - MSL, women's pro leagues and even minor league clubs such as the Chattanooga FC - are more events than anything else. The connection to the common sports fan is still years away.
United States' Carli Lloyd, right, hugs goalkeeper Hope Solo (1) as Megan Rapinoe, left, runs to join in after Lloyd scored her third goal against Japan during the first half of the FIFA Women's World Cup soccer championship in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, Sunday, July 5, 2015.Sunday was a moment for sure - and it could be a the first step of the process, something that a lot of folks thought may never be in the cards.
Soccer best learn from the mistakes hockey made following the 1980 Miracle on Ice. That was supposed to be the seminal hockey moment that was going to springboard the sport in the United States.
Yes, we're all smiling and talking soccer this morning. It was fun, but it was more patriotic than anything else, and right now soccer faces the Olympic model of being an every four-year affair. In fact, most of us won't watch another professional soccer match on TV until the next World Cup.
But we all watched Sunday night, and it was awesome.
So there's no doubting who has set the standard for sports stories this year: the USWNT, and the ride those women took all of America on. Thanks, gang, and see you at Finley Stadium in six weeks.
Contact Jay Greeson at jgreeson@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6343. Follow him on Twitter at jgreeson@timesfreepress.com. Read his online column "The 5-at-10" weekdays starting at 10 a.m. at timesfreepress.com.