"If ever there was a line that morphed into a tripwire, that was it..."

It feels different out there this year. I don't know why. Maybe the World Cup being played over the holidays has thrown our equilibrium off. The US men’s team has played 2 games so far, not won either, scored a grand total of one goal, and still have a chance to move on to the next round. This makes sense to some people but not to me, and just adds to my sense of bewilderment and general unease.