Perhaps it was the angle of the sun glinting off the recently rain-drenched bronze, but after the U.S. Women’s National Team won the World Cup you could almost swear there was a twinkle in the eye of the statue of Patsy Mink that fronts the Hawaii State Public Library’s main branch.

If so, it would have been altogether appropriate, because the late 12-term congresswoman from Maui has as much to savor from the record fourth World Cup title as anybody not named Megan Rapinoe, Alex Morgan, Rose Lavelle, Carli Lloyd, etc.

In its domination of the event a not-so-secret U.S. weapon has been one of Mink’s pet projects, the landmark originally titled Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972.

In recognition of her role as a co-author and persistent advocate, it was subsequently named the “Patsy T. Mink Equal Opportunity in Education Act.”

The legislation prohibits discrimination in educational opportunities based on sex at institutions receiving federal funds. Even though athletics had not been a driving force behind its adoption, it has had a profound and revolutionary impact on sports, empowering generations on the high school and college levels.

Until Title IX came along, the specious argument was that many women simply weren’t interested in competing in sports.

Soccer was a sport played by just 700 girls on the high school level in the U.S. the year Title IX was passed.

But as opportunities have opened up and scholarships have become available, soccer participation boomed. Nearly 400,000 high school girls now play, according to a National Federation of State High School Associations report.

Its graduates have, in turn, made their marks on Olympic, international and pro competition, picking up a slew of gold medals and championships along the way.

Consider, for example, that 21 of the 23 players on the USWNT’s active roster played soccer on the Division I level in U.S. colleges, according to the NCAA. Three members of the runner-up Netherlands team did.

Traditional men’s soccer powers Brazil and England were among the countries that at one time either did not have or outright banned women’s teams, Brazil going so far as to include soccer among sports outlawed for women under Getúlio Dornelles Vargas.

Now, they are desperate to close the gap.

England was a semifinal victim in the latest U.S. march to the championship. In summing up the task of trying to catch up with the U.S., English Football Association women’s director Sue Campbell told The Guardian, “These women came through their schools with soccer. In some schools in America they get soccer every day of the week. In some of our schools we’re lucky if they get a few hours a week. You can’t start suddenly developing this three-quarters of the way through their development. You have to start at the foundation stage. Until we get the foundations right we are going to be playing catch-up.”

While Campbell said she didn’t care for some parts of the American system, she acknowledged, “… the principles of Title IX and the college system should be celebrated and protected.”

Sentiments that would, no doubt, bring a twinkle to the eye of a determined visionary.

Reach Ferd Lewis at flewis@staradvertiser.com or 529-4820.