WASHINGTON, July 1 (UPI) -- Washington has caught a bad case of World Cup fever, and if past is prologue, all eyes in the city will be tuned to Tuesday's USA versus Belgium match.
The capital has tuned into coverage of the Cup at an unmatched rate, with ESPN announcing the Washington, D.C., market leading all others through the group play round.
And with watch parties underway as they were for the USA-Germany match last week, even less than usual will get done in Washington Tuesday afternoon.
President Obama, who held a Cabinet meeting in the late morning and dropped by to deliver a speech in Georgetown, joked that he had to get his work out of the way ahead of the match.
"I thought I'd get the Cabinet together this morning because we all know that America will be busy this afternoon," he said at the cabinet meeting. "Go Team USA!"
For the match against Germany last week, the president managed to squeeze in some game-watching time while traveling to Minneapolis, Minn., aboard Air Force One.
President Obama watches the USA vs Germany World Cup game aboard Air Force One enroute to Minneapolis. #worldcup pic.twitter.com/wfuJvb6hoI
— Doug Mills (@dougmillsnyt) June 26, 2014
Meanwhile, Secretary of State John Kerry, a huge soccer fan and a former varsity player at Yale, made sure to bring along his personalized U.S. Men's National Team jersey along on a trip to Panama.
A spokesman for the State Department said Kerry was "hoping to catch the end of the game on his return flight this afternoon."
En route to #Panama, but made sure to pack my #USMNT jersey for tmw's #USA v #BEL game. #1N1T pic.twitter.com/Nhy5wjOfwV
— John Kerry (@JohnKerry) July 1, 2014
Members of Congress, out of town for the Fourth of July recess, also turned to Twitter to share their patriotic spirit.
Rep. Adam Kinzinger, R-Ill., even took up U.S. Coach Jürgen Klinsmann's suggestion and filled out an excuse note.
What do you say @SpeakerBoehner? Just this once for the #USMNT, I promise. pic.twitter.com/M9F97k6rwL
— Adam Kinzinger (@RepKinzinger) June 26, 2014
Below, a collection of tweets from lawmakers cheering on the USMNT.
#IBelieveThatWeWillWin #USMNT #USSoccer #OneNationOneTeam #AreYouReady pic.twitter.com/pF0hOSUO14
— Sen. Robert Menendez (@SenatorMenendez) July 1, 2014
I'm ready. RT @tigers: One Nation. One Team. #AreYouReady? pic.twitter.com/aWL2Rqxbvm
— John Dingell (@john_dingell) July 1, 2014
#IBelieveThatWeWillWin #IBelieveThatWeWillWin #IBelieveThatWeWillWin #IBelieveThatWeWillWin #IBelieveThatWeWillWin #IBelieveThatWeWillWin
— Rep. Keith Ellison (@keithellison) July 1, 2014
Ready to cheer on Team #USA this afternoon. Catch the game at a watch party in Bflo at @CanalsideBflo or in Niagara Falls at @OldFallsTweet!
— Brian Higgins (@RepBrianHiggins) July 1, 2014
Abe is ready. So are we! #IBelieve in our #USMNT. Go #USA! #WorldCup pic.twitter.com/mhnRwHlSng
— Rep. Joe Crowley (@repjoecrowley) July 1, 2014
#AreYouReady for a USMNT win today? Here in our nation's capital, we are. We believe. Go #USA! pic.twitter.com/5fQPLdfATb
— Nancy Pelosi (@NancyPelosi) July 1, 2014
Good luck to @ussoccer as they take on Belgium in the round of 16! #IBelieve #USMNT #USA vs #BEL
— Senator Bob Casey (@SenBobCasey) July 1, 2014
RT Only a rare few have seen @peterwelch w his game face "@paulheintz: Damn, bro's got mad skillz. @hodgesreporting pic.twitter.com/YYX4iaPlec
— Sen. Patrick Leahy (@SenatorLeahy) July 1, 2014
I don't think our form was THAT bad MT @PeterWelch: @SenatorLeahy & I demonstrate why we didn't get picked for #USMNT pic.twitter.com/gVylEZZU9r
— Sen. Patrick Leahy (@SenatorLeahy) July 1, 2014
#AreYouReady for the #USMNT vs. Belgium today? I am. #OneNationOneTeam pic.twitter.com/PgjaAUwamG
— Adam Schiff (@RepAdamSchiff) July 1, 2014
Good luck to @ussoccer #USMNT in today's #USAvsBEL #WorldCup match. Go #TeamUSA! #OneNationOneTeam pic.twitter.com/bk4kN7zR95
— Foreign Affairs Cmte (@HouseForeign) July 1, 2014
RT to join me in cheering on @ussoccer in #USAvsBEL at the @FIFAWorldCup! #USA #OneNationOneTeam pic.twitter.com/8V9unb25R2
— Mark Kirk (@SenatorKirk) July 1, 2014
Getting excited to watch #USMNT take on #Belgium this afternoon. One nation, one team! #IBelieveThatWeWillWin pic.twitter.com/daixTUN9O1
— Ed Royce (@RepEdRoyce) July 1, 2014
Best of luck to Team USA in their World Cup match with Belgium at 2pm MT! #IBelieveThatWeWillWin pic.twitter.com/dwFj6TiMce
— Rep. Doug Lamborn (@RepDLamborn) July 1, 2014
Wishing our @USSoccer team the best of luck in their game against Belgium 2day! #USMNT #WorldCup2014 #IBelieveThatWeWillWin
— Senator Kay Hagan (@SenatorHagan) July 1, 2014
This video featuring @USSoccer will give you the chills. http://t.co/8rPu76mcJP. Good luck to the #USMNT today! #IBelieveThatWeWillWin #1N1T
— Senator Pat Toomey (@SenToomey) July 1, 2014
#IBelieve #USA v #BEL today! Good luck, #USMNT #AreYouReady pic.twitter.com/TZHX07KXnm
— Johnny Isakson (@SenatorIsakson) July 1, 2014
Let's do this #UMNT! #IBelieveThatWeCanWin #WorldCup2014 #BeatBelgium pic.twitter.com/zZgLeS7xiR
— JudgeCarter (@JudgeCarter) July 1, 2014
RT if YOU are ready!!! pic.twitter.com/mMfmNLOcBl
— Rep. Vicky Hartzler (@RepHartzler) July 1, 2014
We're ready. #USA #1M1T #USMNT #USAvBEL pic.twitter.com/7aInmoKBsj
— Rep. Steve Stockman (@SteveWorks4You) July 1, 2014
Retweet if you're cheering on @ussoccer in their #WorldCup2014 match against Belgium! #IBelieveThatWeWillWin #USMNT pic.twitter.com/zisTk5Itpe
— Bill Shuster (@RepBillShuster) July 1, 2014
Good luck to the #USMNT today! #OneNationOneTeam #USAvsBEL #TeamUSA pic.twitter.com/L9d9ewIMK4
— Diane Black (@RepDianeBlack) July 1, 2014
Looking forward to the next @ussoccer #USMNT game this afternoon against Belgium! #IBelieve pic.twitter.com/5uywWJ7Dx6
— Mario Diaz-Balart (@MarioDB) July 1, 2014
Go #TeamUSA #OneNationOneTeam #USAvBEL #USMNT #AreYouReady #IBelieveThatWeCanWin ! pic.twitter.com/zqNZE99B47
— Rep. Ed Whitfield (@RepEdWhitfield) July 1, 2014
Good luck to the #USMNT today in the World Cup versus Belgium! #OneNationOneTeam #IBelieveThatWeWillWin #GoUSA @ussoccer
— Rep. Mike Coffman (@RepMikeCoffman) July 1, 2014
Will you be watching as the US Men's National Soccer Team takes on Belgium at 4:00 PM? Go USA! #IBelieve http://t.co/GaVt5nLyWr
— Rep. Austin Scott (@AustinScottGA08) July 1, 2014