United States

Guy Dressed as Teddy Roosevelt at World Cup Hails from Chicago

Mike D'Amico works for an ad agency and says he wore the outfit to attract attention and increase excitement of the game

The competition on the field at Sunday's World Cup match between the United States and Portugal was fierce, but there was also some action in the stands that caught the attention of social media users worldwide.

There, among the rallying fans, was the likeness of Teddy Roosevelt, the 26th President of the United States.

The image of the bespectacled cowboy aired on television after a goal by Clint Dempsey in the 81st of the game and immediately blew up on Twitter, quickly earning the moniker "Teddy Goalsevelt."

As it turns out, the man behind the glasses is none other than Mike D'Amico of Chicago. And while he hoped his getup would attract attention, he was surprised his likeness went viral.

"The Twitter thing is awesome. I'm super stoked about that. Obviously anybody would be, but I do it because it gets people fired up. Like, I lead the march here and people were like, 'Yeah! Teddy Roosevelt!.' he told Yahoo! Sports. "It gets people excited. It gets people involved."

D'Amico attended Virginia Commonwealth University and now works as the Associate Creative Director at Chicago-based Cavalry advertising agency.

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