The vibes were already high at Seattle’s Lumen Field at the end of the U.S. men’s national team’s 2-0 win over Australia on Friday, their second straight World Cup win and enough to send them off to the knockout rounds with a game to spare in Group D. Then, the in-stadium loudspeaker started playing a classic.
“Take Me Home, Country Roads” began playing moments after the final whistle, but John Denver’s voice was hard to hear. Instead, a chorus of 66,000 belted out the song while U.S. players took a lap around the field to offer their thanks to a vocal set of fans during a hard-fought but well-deserved victory. It may have been the first time they broke out into song like this at the World Cup but the moment instantly felt like the start of a tradition, one that should carry on as long as the U.S. team continues a run that has now captured the attention of an entire nation.
The origin story behind the selection of the song is a simple one – FIFA asked each of the 48 participating teams to send a list of potential songs they could play in the stadium after a win. U.S. Soccer consulted with the players and others in the federation for songs sung by American artists that would inspire a singalong like the one on Friday and came up with three: Niel Diamond’s “Sweet Caroline,” Bon Jovi’s “Livin’ on a Prayer” and “Country Roads.” The Diamond tune was claimed by England, who also selected Oasis’ iconic “Wonderwall,” while FIFA seems to have co-opted “Livin’ on a Prayer” for their second half hydration breaks. The USMNT faithful sang that tune twice in Seattle – once during that hydration break and again just before “Country Roads” came on.
“Country Roads,” though, is now slowly becoming the USMNT’s song and the USMNT’s song alone.
“It’s just being proud of your country,” defender Auston Trusty said following the game in Seattle, during which he made his World Cup debut. “I think ‘Country Roads’ is a very American song. To hear that in the stadium, everyone singing along – everyone. If you’re American, you probably know that song so everyone’s singing and celebrating the win and you’re smiling and happy with the teammates. It’s a dream come true. It’s feelings that you can’t really describe. It’s just a dream come true.”
“Country Roads” is a popular sports anthem, particularly at West Virginia University thanks to the state getting a famous name-drop in the song despite the fact that the road it is inspired by is actually Clopper Road in Montgomery County, Md., when then-married songwriters Taffy Nivert and Bill Danoff thought of the title during a drive on that road. Danoff said he was ultimately inspired by actor Chris Sarandon and members of a commune, all from West Virginia who attended his performances, when he eventually decided to reference the state in the song.
The USMNT resume play at the World Cup on Thursday for their final Group D game against Turkiye at SoFi Stadium in the Los Angeles suburbs. They then will play in the round of 32 against an opponent to be determined, the game scheduled for July 1 at Levi’s Stadium in the San Francisco area.
