President Obama believes in the U.S. men’s soccer team, but hasn’t quite nailed down the signature chant of World Cup fans.
The president made an impromptu trip to the Old Executive Office Building Tuesday afternoon, where about 200 White House staffers had gathered to watch the U.S.-Belgium elimination game.
{mosads}But the president — perhaps wary after nearly six years in office of making declarative statements — led the group in a chant of “I believe that we can win.”
Staffers more attuned to the U.S. team’s unofficial slogan quickly shifted the response to “I believe that we will win.”
The chant originated more than a decade ago with the Naval Academy’s (American) football team, which began reeling off victories in 2003 after a historically bad run. Midshipmen fans led their team to a bowl berth with the screaming chant, which was subsequently adopted by U.S. soccer fans.
The president said he was a little nervous about heading over to watch the game following a national security meeting at the White House.
“So I was worried that if I walked in and Belgium scored, I’d get in trouble — oh no!” Obama said.
The president wasn’t good luck during the U.S. team’s last game, a 1-0 loss to Germany. Obama watched some of the match while flying to Minneapolis aboard Air Force One.