It is one thing to have been on the ground floor ahead of the meteoric rise of an indie band or clothing label, but announcing it undermines whatever social cachet may have been gained from possessing that degree of taste and vision.Claiming to have known about something before it became cool does not, in fact, ensure coolness to the person saying it.This is how many American soccer fans feel after the 2026 men’s World Cup. The vindicating joy of watching the same people who once disparaged the sport fall in love with it as the biggest World Cup in history unfurled on our doorstep, mixed with the urge to shout, “It’s about time! This is what I’ve been saying all along!”Now that this chapter of the U.S. summer of soccer has ended, there is an urgent need to keep the party going. The post-World Cup blues are real, and no league is better positioned to fill the void and establish itself as the best professional soccer league in North America than the National Women’s Soccer League, which resumed play for the latter half of its season on July 3.With the women’s World Cup kicking off in Brazil in less than a year — followed by the 2028 Olympics and 2031 Women’s World Cup, both of which will take place in the U.S. — there is arguably no better time to crash this party and lock in for the long haul.On the sporting side, there’s plenty to adjust to in the NWSL after the summer break. And for the league’s more seasoned followers, a healthy dose of deja vu.Australia’s all-time leading goal scorer, Sam Kerr, and U.S. captain Lindsey Heaps are back in the league, for starters. The pair, both aged 32, signed with Gotham FC and the Denver Summit, respectively, and have made their debuts in the past week. If their performances are any indication, both look capable of wrapping themselves back in the same stardust they left behind when they departed for Europe.Sam Kerr returned to the NWSL to play for Gotham FC after six years with Chelsea. (Caean Couto / Getty Images)Kerr joined Gotham, reigning league champions, from Chelsea in the Women’s Super League, where she played for six and a half years and won a slew of trophies, primarily under Emma Hayes, who is now the U.S. women’s national team head coach. Kerr last played in the NWSL for Sky Blue FC, now Gotham, from 2015 to 2017 and left as the league’s top regular-season goal scorer, a title she still holds with 77 goals. Amid the scramble of suitors eager to acquire Kerr after her tenure at Chelsea drew to a close, Gotham came out on top, announcing her signing on June 17.How fitting that Kerr’s second act in the NWSL took place at the Queens Classic, a landmark rematch of the 2025 championship against the Washington Spirit at Citi Field in Queens. With 42,175 people in attendance, the event drew in the second-largest crowd in NWSL history and became the most-attended women’s sporting event in New York City. Kerr subbed on in the 64th minute and nearly scored with her first touches in the game.