After one of the most unexpected celebrity controversies of the sports season, Elmo has finally taken a side. The beloved three-year-old red monster from Sesame Street declared his support for the U.S. men’s soccer team in the 2026 World Cup in a video shared on social media Friday, sporting a Team USA jersey and making his position unmistakably clear.
The announcement came with a pointed reference to the drama that preceded it. Elmo acknowledged the situation directly, insisting that while he wants Team USA to win, he still loves everybody competing in the tournament. He then added a plea that felt very much like someone who had already learned a hard lesson about sports fans and neutrality.
How the NBA Finals disaster unfolded
The backstory begins with the NBA Finals, when Elmo posted on X expressing hope that both teams would simply have fun. The post, innocent as it may have seemed, set off a firestorm. The New York Knicks, whose fictional home on Sesame Street places them squarely in the Big Apple, had just reached the Finals for the first time in decades, and fans were not interested in diplomatic pleasantries from one of the city’s most iconic residents.
Knicks supporters labeled Elmo a coward for refusing to back the hometown team. The backlash was swift and merciless, with city agencies joining in. The New York Department of Transportation even threatened to remove the iconic Sesame Street sign at the corner of Broadway and West 63rd Street.
Elmo attempted a recovery, posting a wordplay-heavy message telling fans to ignore his earlier post and using the team names as puns in a bid to lighten the mood. It did not land the way he hoped.
Cookie Monster twisted the knife
Perhaps the most memorable moment of the entire saga came from an unlikely corner of Sesame Street. Cookie Monster, never one to miss an opportunity, weighed in on X with a joke at his friend’s expense, drawing a contrast between Elmo’s lessons about sharing and his own advice about picking a side. The post went viral and became one of the defining comic moments of the NBA Finals news cycle.
The Knicks won, and forgiveness followed
When the Knicks ultimately won the championship, ending a 53-year title drought, the celebration offered a path toward reconciliation. During the victory parade last Thursday, Knicks captain Jalen Brunson carried an Elmo plushie holding a sign that read “Forgive Me PLEASE,” turning what had been a weeks-long controversy into one of the more charming moments of the parade.
Whether Elmo has fully rehabilitated his reputation among New York sports fans remains to be seen, but his unambiguous World Cup declaration suggests the red monster has learned his lesson. When it comes to Team USA, there will be no hedging, no both-sides diplomacy and no room for misinterpretation.
Elmo is all in. Just to be clear.
Source: NBC News / TODAY