Julie Swail has dreamed about it all since first hearing women's water polo made it into the Sydney Olympics.

 "I've practiced waving, smiling, getting everyone up there," said Swail, the team captain for the U.S. women who head to Australia as a gold-medal favorite in the first-ever Olympic women's tournament.

 If they make to the medal stand, they'll join the growing list of women's teams -- basketball, softball, ice hockey and, most notably, soccer -- that have beaten the world, raised their sport's awareness and captured America's fancy.

 Swail said she and her teammates talk about winning all the time. They joke about sitting across from Jay Leno or David Letterman, a shining medal around their necks. They fantasize about post-Olympic tours that feature water polo on the East Coast.

 Things may have already started. The team attended a party Aug. 12 for the Democratic National Convention in Los Angeles and Swail spoke of their mission.

 "Everyone in the room was riveted on Julie," said U.S. Water Polo executive director Bruce Wigo. "These women are everything you hope for."

 Earlier this year, they weren't. The U.S. women had to go to Sicily to qualify for the tournament and coach Guy Baker was worried about their makeup.

 He shouldn't have been. At a Holiday Cup tournament in July, the Americans went 6-0 in a field that included the other five Olympic teams of the Netherlands, Russia, Kazakstan, Canada and Australia.

 "The team is starting to think they are one of the best teams in the world," Baker said. "Sometimes that's half the battle."

 Maureen O'Toole, at 39, is the team's most experienced player. She was once the world's greatest player and retired in 1994 when she didn't think women's water polo would ever make the Olympics.

 She savors every goal scored and each moment in the pool, knowing she'll retire for good after the games. "I want to win a medal," she said. "And for me and for everybody, I think the ultimate is to win a gold medal. And I think we can do it."

 The team's toughest competition figures to be the Netherlands, the defending world champions, and Australia.

 O'Toole, Swail and the rest of the team know that a gold medal could be good for themselves and great for their sport.

 Water polo has a West Coast sheen that has been slow to spread east. It's a grueling sport -- players must tread water and swim without touching bottom for four 7-minute periods -- that languishes behind such glamour events as swimming and diving.

 Wigo remembers a conversation several years ago with author and commentator Frank Deford about how to boost water polo's profile. "He didn't give me too much hope," he said.

 Nothing shines brighter to America's Olympic fans than gold.

 Dr. Dot Richardson and Michelle Smith, both stars of the 1996 softball gold medalists, have their own Web sites. Ice hockey's Cammi Granato hit the talk shows and became a Los Angeles Kings' broadcaster after her team's Olympic gold in 1998. And the explosion of interest that's followed women's soccer since its Atlanta gold and World Cup title last year was watched closely by the water polo team.

 "We followed the soccer team and cheered for them because we knew what they sacrificed to get there," Swail said.

 Baker said his players know what's at stake. "They want their legacy to be that they helped to enhance their sport," he said.

 Water polo looked ready for that in the 1980s. The men took silver medals at the 1984 and 1988 games. Team captain Terry Schroeder, a hunky star whose torso was the model for the athlete statue outside the Los Angeles Coliseum, was sought by TV advertisers.

 But the buzz didn't last, Wigo said, partly because officials weren't ready to capitalize. There were no full-time American federation employees and no post-Olympic tour to bring athletes to different areas. "No way to showcase our sport," Wigo said.

 Since the mid-1980s, women's water polo is experiencing soccer-like growth. In 1994, there were four colleges with water polo programs. There are 53 today, including Big Ten school's like Michigan and Indiana.

 Swail said Title IX, the federal law that gives women equal athletic opportunities, has kept her sport booming because it's easy for schools with pools to add without much expense.

 If the women's water polo team comes through in Sydney, expect interested marketers to search them out -- but not for long, said Clemson University assistant marketing professor Greg Pickett. "There's a limited amount of time to parlay that into a significant amount of dollars," he said.

 Money and fame aren't everything. Swail said her sport's niche following meant team members play for Olympic success, and not long-lasting glory.

 Courtney Johnson put her final year of law school on hold. Olympic alternate Rachel Scott laid tile to make ends meet. Heather Moody worked in a warehouse.

 Swail worked carrying large cases of wine as a wine representative. "They were heavy," she said. "It kept me in great shape."

 Good enough shape to carry water polo into American homes?

 "We think so," Swail said. "We are ready to make our marks."