Soccer Fans Continue to Show Support

The first week of June, navy blue and white USA jerseys as well as warm-up jackets lined the racks at the Premier Soccer Shop on First Street. By the end of the month though, fans looking to nab a Landon Donovan or Jozy Altidore jersey were out of luck.

The jerseys are long gone.

Owner Marco Meneses says the store has sold more than 600 jerseys – evenly split between the two colors - and about 100 jackets this month.

"It's been crazy," he said. "The U.S. has by far been the most popular. There isn't even a close second, which is good to see."

He estimates that sales are up 300 percent compared to June 2009, a number that includes online and in-store purchases. The split is about even between the two sources.

A few lucky fans scored a jersey the day before the U.S. took on Ghana in the Round of 16, their final match of the 2010 Cup.

"Last Friday we had a surprise shipment of about 60 jerseys. We didn't even know it was coming," says Meneses. "We timed it, just to see how fast they would go. Everything was out by 10:40, and we still had people coming in all day asking for them."

The jerseys are sold without a name or number, but the Premier Shop – which finished No. 2 in U.S. Soccer's "2009 Best Soccer Shop in America" contest – offers custom printing. The most popular U.S. player this month was Donovan, thanks in part to his miraculous goal in the 91st minute against Algeria, to move the U.S. into elimination play. Throughout the month, Michael Bradley was the most popular among female fans; most guys asked for Altidore or Donovan.

The Premier Shop carries every official product that is licensed to be sold in the U.S. Certain jerseys, including those of Chile and North Korea, aren't available in the States. While Meneses says the U.S. had "far and away" the most supporters, Hobokenites are buying jerseys of just about every team.

He estimates that the store has sold about 200 Portugal jerseys, but says many of the fans are supporting Portugal's star player, Cristiano Ronaldo, more so than the actual team.

Located right next door to Mulligan's, the Mile Square's most popular soccer bar and a gathering point for German fans, Meneses has sold a good number of Germany jerseys. Argentina, Brazil, Ghana, Algeria, Cameroon and Australia have also been popular.

"England was selling really well at first," he says with a laugh, "until everyone realized they really weren't good. Then it was like it just went off a cliff, it totally rocketed out." Sales of Italy jerseys followed a similar pattern. But right from the start, the slowest seller—in conjunction with the country's disastrous performance during the tournament—was France.

It's not always about country pride. Some people want to make a fashion statement; to wear a jersey that will get people asking, "What team is that?" The Netherlands jersey is always popular, Meneses says, because it's orange.

The surprise seller this year was South Korea. "I couldn't believe it," Meneses says, "We went through about 65 or 70 jerseys. We only have five left."

This is the first World Cup for the Premier Shop, which opened just after the 2006 Cup in Germany. The shop's first major tournament was the 2008 Euro Cup. Meneses says sales were huge during the tournament, but it was nothing compared to what he has seen this month.

"It's a combination of two things," he says. "We're more established now, and the World Cup is on a much larger scale."

Meneses loves seeing so many fans supporting the U.S. But being the realistic guy that he is, he knows the passion Americans are currently showing for the sport only comes in bursts.

"Soccer is a niche sport in the U.S.," he acknowledges. "For these 30 days, it's huge." He says he'd love to see it become more popular, but just doesn't think that's practical.

That's not to say fans will jump ship immediately. Meneses is expecting the wave of soccer enthusiasm to carry into August, when the U.S. takes on Brazil at the New Meadowlands Stadium in a friendly match.

"We'll have 90,000 fans going to watch the U.S. about a mile from here. People are going to want to wear jerseys to that game." Even with the U.S. out of the tournament, he says he still has fans coming in everyday asking for U.S. jerseys.

As long as the demand continues, the Premier Shop will continue to fill it. Meneses expects the next shipment of USA jerseys to arrive by August 1st, in plenty of time for the August 10th match against Brazil.