Our Show Begins - US Match Day -1

Natal is know as 'Cidado do Sol' - The City of Sun, and Sunday was our day to get our first glimpse of it, but not much. We had arrived the day before to steady rain and Sunday began the same, though tapering off as the day progressed. For all the talk of heat and humidity the reality is, y'all, it pretty much feels like June in Georgia.

Sunday was also when we got our first glimpse of Estadio das Dunas - Arena of the Dunes. The US would hold a short press conference, then training, which was open to media for the first 15 minutes. There has been much talk of the venues being 'not quite ready' and I could post a number of images to attest that, but the scene as we arrived says it to some degree.

Much of the area that would be traditionally paved around such a venue is not, there are stacks of construction materials everywhere, signage is marginally informative, and most of the staff outside really don't know much about what and who should go where. The part that should be most embarrassing is they have already hosted one World Cup match here, so one would think they'd have a better handle on things.

Once inside the stadium, what you see on TV, it is a very nice facility.

It has expanded seating for 43,000 for the World Cup, but will reduce to 31,000 in its permanent configuration, after the tournament.

The US press conference was the usual very orchestrated session. Still photographers were only allowed for the first two minutes, then asked to leave. We were able to watch the remainder back in the SMC, which is where we also watched the first two matches of the day.

Once Juergen Klinsmann, captain Clint Dempsey, and midfielder Michael Bradley entered, it was refreshing to see all relaxed and seemingly quite ready to get the show going. Please also notice the strategic product placement in most of the photo angles....;)

That, by the way, is the closest to a smile you normally get from Michael. As on the field, he is very much all business, and a great role model for the professionalism of this generation of USMNT players.
Once they hit the field, most of the brief photo op was jogging a stretching. Here's a close-up look at teenage sensation Julian Green.

And in closing this post from Sunday, one of the most reassuring things I noticed was actually getting two shots in one day of Clint smiling. He seems very relaxed, focused, and ready to hit the pitch for the first match, US-Ghana, Monday, 6:00 EDT.

All contents of this blog, written and photographic, are copyrighted 2014, all Rights Reserved, by Perry McIntyre - Atlanta, GA.