Americans must want us to catch a cold!

PALM BEACH GARDENS — Covering a World Cup in the United States is a constant lesson in survival, extending far beyond Roberto Martínez's tactics or the players' physical conditioning. The real battle, the one threatening to decimate Portuguese reporting teams before the group stage even concludes, isn't fought on the scorching pitches of Texas or Florida. Instead, it unfolds within every building, taxi, or press center we dare to enter. The conclusion is inevitable and unanimous among our fellow journalists: Americans must want us to catch a cold!

It's perfectly understandable that, faced with the suffocating heat and extreme humidity found in Houston or Palm Beach, locals seek the comfort of air conditioning. The problem is that this country's thermal engineering doesn't grasp the concept of moderation. Wherever you go indoors, air conditioners are invariably set to Siberian temperatures, capable of cryogenically preserving a mammoth. Stepping from the street into an indoor venue is like a lightning-fast trip from the Sahara Desert to the heart of Antarctica in less than two seconds.

At a certain point, the routine for Portuguese journalists transformed into a bizarre winter fashion show. It became perfectly normal to see colleagues wearing coats inside workspaces, while outside, the asphalt melted. The wardrobe became a game of patience: put on a coat indoors to avoid freezing, then strip it off the moment you pass through the revolving door to avoid collapsing from the forty-degree heat.

On this Route 66 of absurd contrasts, local pharmacies are already profiting from our delegation. Between a Cristiano Ronaldo dribble and a bifana in Texas, the true victory lies in making it to the end of the day without a muscle strain or a nasty flu. Someone needs to tell the Americans that common sense can also be trained.