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The team is actually pretty relaxed when it comes to pre-match routines.
SAN DIEGO — With the FIFA World Cup underway, U.S. Men's National Team players say their game day rituals have less to do with luck and more to do with preparation.
It's one of the oldest stories in sports: the lucky socks, the left shoe first, the pregame superstition passed down through locker rooms for generations. But for this group of Americans, experience has replaced superstition.
"I am the least superstitious individual — probably the least superstitious sports individual that you'll ever meet," said defender Tim Ream.
Other players say they skip the rituals entirely, preferring solitude and stillness in the hours before kickoff.
"I don't like things getting too loud," defender Ser...
