Seattle —
Decked in a full-on red, white, and blue outfit and donning a faux wig with stars and stripes hair, covered head-to-toe in patriotism, a US soccer fan skipped down Stadium Place Street just outside of Lumen Field, declaring at full volume, “Our spirits are winners!”
This was a full two hours after the team she unabashedly supports, the US men’s national team (USMNT), suffered a resounding 4-1 loss to a Belgium side that had an axe to grind with the American squad and FIFA.
She wasn’t alone in singing about how the last three and a half weeks had, even in defeat, brought her joy.
There was a remarkable number of United States fans leaving the Round of 16 site not with their heads down but rather held up high, with many continuing to bellow the familiar “U-S-A!” chant heard at every USMNT match.
