There is no faster way to become European than the World Cup. For 32 days, Americans who spend the other 1,428 days of the four year cycle politely ignoring soccer will suddenly remember that their great-uncle was from Lyon, that they spent a semester in Buenos Aires, or that their boyfriend is technically British (which counts!) The tournament has always operated as a kind of permission slip: drink at noon, wear soccer kits, feel genuinely moved by a country you could not have located on a map last Tuesday. This year, with the World Cup on North American soil, rooting for somewhere else has never felt more like a position. Wear the kit. Buy the bag. Your loyalties, like the best outfits, have range
Photo: Brandstaetter Images/Votava/Getty Images (boys playing soccer)
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