SEATTLE — Members of the U.S. national team were scheduled to gather Saturday night with family and friends on a downtown rooftop here to watch fireworks explode from barges over Lake Union.
There was going to be barbecue, laughter, and maybe even a quiet moment to appreciate that they were spending America’s 250th birthday in the middle of the biggest sporting event on the planet.
Then it will go back to work.
Monday’s Round of 16 clash against Belgium is the biggest this generation of American players have ever faced. However, perhaps the most compelling thing about this team isn’t what they accomplished on the field. This is what he represents outside the touch lines.
The United States celebrates the Fourth of July at a time when Americans often seem to agree on little. The national team does not differ in its composition. This list of 26 men spans across generations, backgrounds and life experiences. They come from different cultures, religions and corners of the football world.
Yet they are united by one shirt.
“It’s doubly special because it’s happening during the World Cup, and triple special because it’s here in the United States,” said veteran team captain Tim Ream. “We’ve said this as a group — with all our different backgrounds, where we all grew up — it’s a true representation of what America is. It’s a melting pot of people, personalities, personalities. It’s a perfect representation of what the United States is and what it’s about.”
Ream laughed, saying that celebrating the Fourth of July was always different during his years in England while playing in the Premier League with Fulham.
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“A lot of people don’t actually know why we celebrate the Fourth. Which is crazy to me, because they were a big part of the reason we celebrated,” he joked. “For me, it’s a barbecue, family, fireworks, and celebrating what it means to have freedom.”
One evening here, those traditions remain intact.
But the fireworks America hopes to remember won’t come from the sky Monday. They will come from inside Seattle, where a team built on different stories will pursue the same dream: reaching the quarterfinals for only the second time in its history.