July 9 at 4:31 PM
Not long after the U.S. women’s national team hoisted the World Cup trophy, Kristin Cole learned about Wednesday’s celebratory parade in New York. She immediately booked a hotel online and bought bus tickets for herself and her 14-year old daughter, Avery, that departed Wilkes-Barre, Pa., their hometown, at 4 a.m.
It’s an event they didn’t dare miss, and not just because the Americans bulldozed their way through the world’s biggest soccer tournament. For four weeks, the Americans won on the field and for four weeks, the Cole family had nightly conversations at the dinner table, deep, nuanced and complicated discussions about gender issues and income inequality and gay rights.