A low murmur escaped the crowd at the Press Room in Portsmouth when Belgium scored the first goal of an elimination match against the United States. Despite a U.S. goal in the first half, the game went downhill from there and the U.S. lost to Belgium 4-1. Even though the U.S. is officially out of the World Cup, soccer enthusiasts know it’s far from the end of soccer in New Hampshire.
The watch party capped off a series of watch parties hosted by the New Hampshire Soccer Project all over the state. Their goal is to strengthen the state’s soccer culture and eventually build pro soccer teams in New Hampshire.
“People want to watch the World Cup with other people, whether you're celebrating a win or a loss,” said project co-founder Caleb Ginsberg. “I think the World Cup is unique in that people want to watch it shoulder to shoulder, cheering and having an experience.”
Co-founders Samantha and Caleb Ginsberg have spent the past year helping plan these watch parties, which they see as a way to build community with other soccer fans.
The couple partnered with several local business owners, like Kevin Dwyer from the Press Room, which is usually a music venue. While figuring how to sync AV equipment with the game broadcast, he quipped that it was his chance to learn what it was like to run a sports bar for a night, and estimated about 150 people turned out to watch the game.
“This is kind of like the community watering hole,” he said. “I was really glad that we got to do it with one of the US games.”
After the World Cup, Samantha Ginsberg is looking ahead to their next thing — a street soccer tournament open to both youth and adults. She said the community response for the watch parties has been enthusiastic, and hopes the momentum will continue in August.
“Creating community around something is really important,” she said. “And when you do it in the right way, that's authentic and genuine, where you are meeting people where they are and are also creating a different experience for them that they don’t normally have, people react in a really good way.”
