I Cheered for Team USA in Italy

As a ‘90s kid, I vividly remember pressing my nose against the screen and watching the Olympics on TV. Whether summer or winter, every two years, I found myself ready and eager to put on my Old Navy American flag shirt and cheer on our beloved athletic heroes. I’d always dreamed of attending the Olympics in real life, and in February, my opportunity to support Team USA at the Milano Cortina 2026 games came to fruition. 

After arriving in Italy, I couldn’t deny there was a twinge of nervous energy around me, all things considered. Truthfully, I wasn’t sure how donning my big red, white, and blue outfits would be received by other spectators. As I left to attend my first event—dual moguls at the Livigno stadium—I had a moment of hesitation as I placed my Team USA beanie on my head. I thought to myself, “We’ll see how this goes.” 

Will Travel for Team USA: Navigating the Olympics in Italy

As my fiancé, his parents, and I waited at the bus stop to catch a ride to our events, a family wearing Switzerland’s iconic white cross immediately began chatting with us—not about anything related to the United States, but about our plans for the day. After some delays, we soon realized we needed to adjust our bus route, and they invited us to walk together to catch another bus. When we eventually arrived at the entrance to dual moguls, we said our goodbyes but continually waved to one another whenever we saw each other around during the event.

Upon arrival at the event, Italian volunteers welcomed us with great big smiles and said, “Welcome Team USA!” One volunteer in particular quickly asked us to take his poll of our favorite Italian beverage (the answer is bombardinos, for the record). I won’t lie, it felt nice to hear “Welcome” and “USA” in the same sentence. We scurried to the viewing area and naturally grouped together with other folks wearing the colors of Old Glory. 

Cheering for Team USA in Italy

When the competition began, the energy couldn’t be higher. Australians were throwing their balloon kangaroos in the air every time an Aussie did well, and Canadians were proudly displaying their maple leaf flags. When an American competed well, there were only cheers and no boos.

I’ll admit, I was surprised. For two golden hours, it felt like the whole world came to a pause. No one cared where we were from or made us feel uncomfortable. The only thing people cared about was which athlete you were there to cheer! In fact, athlete Charlie Mickel’s support squad even gave us some whistles to help cheer him on specifically.

My 2026 Winter Olympics Takeaways

Later in the day, we attended the big air event. Two young Italian volunteers came up to me and asked if I’d like my face painted. One of the men said, “I can do the letters USA or the flag.” After a moment’s pause, I said, “Can I have both?” It was that specific moment where I felt free to be truly proud without hesitation to support Team USA. I was telling my future mother-in-law how much I appreciated this frozen moment of global unity that seemed to exist only within the confines of the Winter Games. She simply said something along the lines of “Sports is life.” I hadn’t ever considered that before. And she was right. Simple games that stem back to the ancient world still managed to bring millions of people together for two weeks out of the year.

There was no questioning of your country’s most recent actions, and simply 16 days where we could display our colors and proudly yell, “Go Team USA.” As we approach the LA 2028 Summer Olympic Games, I know I’ll be watching proudly with as much Team USA gear as I can get my hands on.