Syracuse University's men's soccer team just clinched its first-ever national championship title as fandom around the sport is nearly at its peak. The Orange's triumph comes while teams across the world are competing on the international stage at the FIFA World Cup—and the combination is a business bump for the local bar scene.
It's a fluke that the two competitions ever aligned. The FIFA World Cup comes around every four years, but is usually in the summer. This year the tournament was moved to the winter because Qatar's climate is too hot during the warmer months. The schedule change meant soccer's global competition overlapped with the national collegiate tournament.
The coincidence paid off for a local bar in Liverpool.
"I think it would be a big boost this year, it was," said Home Team Pub owner Joe Kalil.
He said Home Team gets big crowds when it shows Orange football and basketball games. But this year, the turnout for the final soccer match between SU and Indiana was even bigger.
"Saturday game day for basketball depends who the team they're playing is, but usually two to three hundred people," Kalil said. "Football Saturday is the same thing, and then a big lacrosse game, we get about a hundred. Then last night, we were full. We had about three hundred and fifty people in here."
Kalil said the international competition in Qatar boosted local interest in SU's historic run.
"Perfect time for Syracuse to make the national championship," Kalil said. "Lot of eyes on them. The world cup – everyone has soccer fever. Just, what a year to win it."
Kalil hopes the hype surrounding the sport will continue when soccer starts again next fall.
“And then next year now, people will be more inclined to watch the game when the World Cups not going on," Kalil said.
The sports bar plans to show the semi finals and Sunday's final World Cup match.
