Attending a World Cup game in person, an event that holds global magnitude and resonance, means going through a number of possible mental states. Before Team USA’s game Saturday in Seattle, I considered the possibility that the entire event would fail to live up to its planet-sized hype. Because, my thinking was, how could it start doing this? While the whole world was watching — and, especially, in a country where soccer, on its finest day, is America’s fourth most popular sport — the cynical side of my brain kept screaming about how the United States, its men’s national team, and my hometown of Seattle would fail.
I tried to avoid thoughts of how things would feel in the stadium and around the city if the United States laid an egg against Australia. In one of the best World Cup games ever played by the Stars and Stripes, a 4-1 win over Paraguay, a disappointing loss to the Socceroos would have been embarrassing, momentum-killing, and…unfortunately, right in line with the history of men’s soccer in the States. On the other hand, even in the event of victory, my mind went into a state of premature lethargy. What if, I naively thought, the boys in Waldo kits had put in another spectacular performance, but that didn’t happen. feel How must it have felt to win the World Cup? A version of Paris Syndrome, I guess, but for sports fans. That’s another thing. I can’t claim to be the most knowledgeable or knowledgeable football fan. Truth be told, I only think about the USMNT every four years, and didn’t have much attachment.
But I’m here to tell you: All that went out the window as soon as the first goal hit the net.
