Flat-Out Fantastic

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Now that the American team has reclaimed the championship, however, there is business to take care of. This is sports, after all. The members will take a victory tour to help prepare the defense of their Olympic gold medal in Sydney next summer. They are eager to get a pro league started, perhaps with some of the profits this tournament will have generated quite unexpectedly. And there is the matter of the players' contract with U.S. Soccer, which expires soon. Some team players earn less than $30,000--coffee money for a male professional. Says Steinbrecher, sounding like a negotiator: "We can't afford to pay them what we think they're worth." He may just have to try a little harder. Welcome to the big time, ladies.

--With reporting by James Willwerth/Pasadena