We find our seats. Section 126, lower bowl, close enough to see faces. The stadium is filling with a sound I’ve only heard on television before. A hum that builds without a single moment you can point to and say that’s where it started. The roof is closed. The light is electric. The air is filled with the smells of turf and beer and sunscreen and the heat of seventy thousand bodies in a sealed bowl in June.
Marchetti is reading the match program. “Your brother’s number ten?”
“Yes. Attacking midfielder.”
“And the big guy? Number four?”
The number is on the screen above the pitch. MAREŠ. Center back. Six foot four.
“That is Damián,” I say. “He plays center back. He is the defensive anchor.”
“Wait,” Davis says. “That’s your brother’s friend, right?”
“Yes.”
The teams emerge from the tunnel and seventy thousand voices crack open at once. The Czech side in red. The Brazilians in gold and green. The flags ripple. I find him before the camera does. Hands behind his back. Hair up. Eyes forward. The red shirt across his shoulders and the number four between his shoulder blades. Tomáš is five spots down the line, smaller, lighter, vibrating the way he does before he runs.
They’re both singing the anthem. Damián’s mouth moves with certainty. His eyes are already on the pitch. He’s inside the game before the whistle has blown.
The pitch opens up and twenty-two bodies organize themselves into shape. Damián wins the first aerial duel in the fourth minute. The Brazilian striker comes in fast and he’s already there. The jump timed so precisely, the ball meets his forehead at a height nobody else on the pitch can reach.
“Holy shit,” Marchetti says. “He just jumped over that guy.”
“He did not jump over him. He out-timed him.”
“Hájek, you understand this sport?”
“I understand positioning. Positioning is positioning in every sport.”
“Okay, explain this to me then. In hockey, the goalie covers most of the net. It’s a small net. Why is the soccer net so ENORMOUS? You could park a car in there.”
“The goalkeeper cannot use his hands outside a certain area. The field is very large. A large net creates difficulty.”
“But the goalie can use his hands INSIDE the area?”
“Yes.”
“What happens if an outfield player uses his hands?”
“The other team is given a free kick. Or a penalty.”
“Even by accident?”
“Even by accident. There was a famous incident where the ball hit a player’s hand and the other team received a penalty and there was a riot.”
“A RIOT? You said there was no fighting!”
“The players do not fight. The fans occasionally riot.”
“Hockey fans don’t riot.”
“Counterpoint. Philly and Vancouver,” Thompson says.
“Vancouver was one time. And Philly fans are crazy.”
Tomáš wins a tackle at midfield. Drives forward. Passes wide. The crowd leans. The chance comes to nothing. Sixty yards fromthe ball, Damián is already adjusting position, already seeing what might happen three moves from now.
“He’s good,” Thompson says.
