London 2012 Soccer: Thrilling Tournament Will Grow Women's Game's Popularity

Drama, thy name is women's soccer.

I really don't know how these ladies continue to do it, but every time they take the pitch, they out-do whatever they did during the previous 90 minutes. 

For proof, rewind to the 2011 World Cup.

The group stages provided fairly mediocre action, but once we got to the knockout stage, things got really good. So good, actually, that it's hard to know where to start.

How about with the very first match of the quarters? England led France, but a ridiculous 87th-minute equalizer by Elise Bussaglia got the "late-goal" trend started.

The next day, Brazil and the United States took the field in what would go down as one of the greatest matches ever. 

After the first 90 minutes, the score was all knotted up at one. Then, in the 92nd minute, Marta, arguably the best player in the world, put the Brazilians ahead, and all hope looked lost for the Americans.

Until this happened in the 122nd minute:

Things couldn't possibly get better than that, right? Wrong. 

In the finals, USA and Japan once again went to extra time after Aya Miyama tied the score at one in the 81st minute (hey look, another late equalizer). The Americans went ahead in the 104th minute. The Japanese tied it up again in the 117th (oh hey, ano—OK, you get the idea).

Back. And. Forth.

Japan eventually won in PKs, but the tournament went down as arguably one of the most exciting of all time. Women's soccer was finally on the map.

Nonetheless, London couldn't possibly be any better than all those late equalizers, all that extra time, all that drama. Once again, oh so wrong. 

The good stuff got started in the semis when the Americans, despite a hat trick from Canada's Christine Sinclair, managed to squeak by with a 4-3 victory that nearly broke the thing they call Twitter. The U.S. equalized three separate times and got the game winner from Alex Morgan in the 123rd minute.

Take that, Abby Wambach's lame 122nd-minute goal. 

In the final, more of the same. The United States jumped ahead by two goals in the rematch against Japan, but the Japanese ladies crawled back, scoring once and coming close on tons of enthralling action. 

Another successful tournament, another step up for women's soccer. 

So what is it that's making this sport climb the ladder so quickly?

Part of it is the influx of tremendous players. Abby Wambach, Alex Morgan, Hope Solo, who made multiple gold-medal saving saves against Japan after a so-so tournament, Carli Lloyd, Marta, Christine Sinclair. The list goes on. The talent level is at an all-time high, and most importantly, it's fun to watch.

What's possibly more vital for the game, however, is that these ladies simply have a flair for the dramatic. I can't remember ever seeing so many late goals, big saves and nail-biting finishes in such a short amount of time. 

The depth of players isn't quite as deep as the men's game, and thus, the club level is still far from as popular. But when women's international squads take the pitch, you watch.

Is it 2015 yet? 

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