Here they are, back in the bus, and there’s something exhilarating about being on the move with a police escort. It’s a special little part of the pomp and pageantry of a truly big event. Just like the sound of aluminum studs clack-clack-clacking in a stadium tunnel before kickoff, it’s a mental and sensory cue that it’s game time. It’s on.
The US team steadily moves through traffic, winding through the Eternal City, gladiators on their way to Rome’s latter-day Colosseum, the Stadio Olimpico. Just like in Trinidad, they’re once again playing the antagonist to the crowd favorites. It’s them against an entire nation, and they’re behind enemy lines.
