PASADENA, Calif. -- Two decades ago, the Rose Bowl was the backdrop when the U.S. women's national team showed that gender has nothing to do with how much a game matters. Again in the shadow of the San Gabriel Mountains, the current version of that team stepped onto the same field Saturday night to play its first game since winning the 2019 World Cup.
What transpired this time wasn't even the biggest news of the week for the most influential team in women's sports.
The USWNT's 3-0 win against Ireland on Saturday was as much an afterthought as an exclamation point to the week that was.