With five minutes left Saturday, the game nearly in hand and the crowd oh so into it, Barclays Center put up a video of a chant by Utah State University basketball fans that had only six words and yet is oh so infectious.
"I BELIEVE THAT WE WILL WIN!" went the chant, each word uttered separately at an increasingly rising decibel level before breaking out as a complete, rhythmic phrase. As a Nets timeout went long, the crowd got more and more into it. It was the culmination of a great evening. A video of the chant first showed up on Annieook's Instagram account. Later Sunday, Sports Illustrated posted a wider view of the chant.
As Stefan Bondy tweeted...
Really feeling the "I believe we will win" chant from the crowd. Good job by Nets if that catches on. Of course, I'm also a soccer fan.
— Stefan Bondy (@NYDNInterNets) May 11, 2014
ESPN's Marc Stein, a fan of soccer as well as basketball, was impressed...
RT @NetsJetsfan549: @ESPNSteinLine Did you hear "I Believe That We Will Win" chants at Nets game last night? (FOR REAL? PROPS)
— Marc Stein (@ESPNSteinLine) May 11, 2014
While it has become a staple in European and American soccer leagues --here's a video of Tribune Loire Nantes using it earlier on Saturday-- and ESPN used it in a World Cup commercial, the chant apparently began at a Naval Academy basketball game a decade ago and was popularized more recently by Utah State, which uses it pre-game.
Whoever started it, it's ours now ... and we're not giving it back!