The First Whistle

More than seventy thousand people sang the anthem at once, red, white, and blue fireworks bursting over the night. Mason stood in front of the bench and watched Brooks tighten the captain's armband. For the first time, he felt the true weight of the World Cup. Not the television version. Not the dream from posters when he was a kid. The grass under his feet, the crest on his chest, the countless eyes in the stands, and the sound of an entire country placing its hope on the shoulders of eleven men. The U.S. started hard. In the sixth minute, Lucas crossed from the right and Miller headed just wide. In the thirteenth, Brooks shot from outside the box and forced a save. The crowd stood again and again, then sank back again and again.