World Cup
“What, you don’t believe in miracles?”
Tom Brady in 2025. AP Photo/Scot Tucker
While the buildup to the 2026 World Cup has mostly (and, to a large extent, justifiably) focused on the many price-related problems, it remains an inherently exciting summer proposition for sports fans.
One of the more interesting dynamics for the U.S. men’s team as they prepare to play as hosts for the second time in World Cup history is their ongoing underdog status. And if there’s one thing Boston sports fans not only love but have experience rooting for, its a championship team that nobody initially believed in.
In a newly-launched commercial promoting the World Cup (which begins on June 11 and runs through the July 19 final), Fox Sports asks fans, “Do you believe?”
It features a fictional scenario in which the U.S. men appear to defeat Brazil to clinch the World Cup trophy. Along with rank-and-file fans celebrating, a few notable cameos were included. Among those:
Former Revolution head coach Bruce Arena (who is also a former U.S. men’s national team coach)
Posters of Boston sports legends David Ortiz and Rob Gronkowski (in a Buccaneers uniform) are shown being supplanted on a child’s bedroom wall
Tom Brady, a Fox Sports announcer, is shown cutting the hair of Swedish soccer legend Zlatan Ibrahimovic after he presumably lost a bet to the former Patriots quarterback
Probably the most powerful cameo comes at the very end of the advertisement, however, as U.S. hockey legend Mike Eruzione pops up to remind two fans about a foundational American sports lesson.
“What, you don’t believe in miracles?” Eruzione quips with perfect deadpan delivery before slowly walking out of the bar that has his framed Team USA jersey not-so-subtly hanging on the wall.
Hayden Bird is a sports staff writer for Boston.com, where he has worked since 2016. He covers all things sports in New England.
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