Chicago Spurs member becomes worldwide sensation

Our summer tour to the USA and Canada has got plenty of people excited – not least the man behind this week’s Teddy ‘Goalsevelt’ internet sensation!

Spurs fan Mike D’Amico, a keen member of Chicago Spurs – one of our official Supporters’ Clubs, took the web by storm on Sunday night when he was shown on worldwide television celebrating former Spur Clint Dempsey’s goal for USA against Portugal at the World Cup while dressed as former American President Teddy Roosevelt.

The 31-year-old, who had travelled to watch the game in Manaus, Brazil, from his home in Chicago, became an instant hit on social media thanks to his exuberant celebrations in the guise of Teddy ‘Goalsevelt’ – with his passion for football clear for all to see.

And as he continues to enjoy his new-found fame, Mike revealed how he and his fellow Chicago Spurs members cannot wait to welcome us to their city in July.

“I’ve been a member of Chicago Spurs for a little over a year, but only because I hadn’t heard about the group before then,” he said. “I’ve been a Spurs fans since around 2010, so as a soon as I found out about Chicago Spurs I signed up.

“When we heard about the match against Chicago Fire as part of the Club’s tour, we all kind of lost it!

“I’ve actually seen the Club play in the USA once before – I flew from Chicago to Baltimore to see the team play Liverpool a couple of years ago, but now I’m excited and thrilled that they’re coming to my city.”

Mike went on to explain how his overnight fame serves to illustrate just how popular the beautiful game is becoming in the States – and confirmed why he chose to follow Spurs after his initial introduction to the sport.

“For me, a lot of this Teddy Goalsevelt thing has been coincidental and there’s dozens of people in all sorts of different gets-ups at the World Cup every day,” he said. “But I figured the most exciting thing about it is that, in order for something like this to happen, there has to be a critical mass of eyeballs watching the USA soccer team and the fact that me screaming into a television camera dressed as Teddy Goalsevelt instantly became a viral sensation around the world shows that soccer really has arrived in the States.

“I grew up with American football but I fell in love with soccer at the World Cup in 2006 and 2010 and finally decided it was time to give it a real shot. I gave myself what I called a soccer boot camp and for one month in the summer of 2010, all I was allowing myself to watch, read and listen to was soccer-related.

“I got a feel for the landscape, the players and the history and from there I narrowed it down to a few clubs that I thought felt right for me. I watched as much of the Premier League season as I could and I just loved everything that Spurs brought. They say you don’t choose the Club but the Club chooses you and I feel like that’s really what happened.

“With the style of play, the history, the attitude and Club mantras – it just felt right. And especially now that I’m famous for Teddy Goalsevelt, To Dare Is To Do feels very Rooseveltian, so I think it’s a good thing.”

To find out more about Chicago Spurs - one of our official Supporters' Clubs - click here...