Striker Landon Donovan's last-gasp goal against Algeria on Wednesday allowed the American team to advance to the knockout round for a game against Ghana on Saturday. Many Americans celebrated.
Bars from New York to Houston to San Francisco enjoyed the World Cup's early-morning first-round games that boosted demand for beers and breakfasts, and more of the same is expected on Saturday.
"We wouldn't have a single person here because we wouldn't even be open yet," said Jason King, general manager of the Claddagh Irish Pub outside Detroit, where about 100 fans clad in red, white and blue drank beer at 10am EDT and cheered for the U.S. team playing against Slovenia last week.
The U.S. soccer team's game versus England drew almost 17 million viewers between Walt Disney Co's ABC network and Spanish-language Univision, making it the country's most-viewed first-round World Cup match ever, while ESPN's broadcast of the critical third game against Algeria was the most-watched soccer game in the sports network's history.
"Basically, anybody who has a TV has seen business pick up," said Bruce Grindy, chief economist with the National Restaurant Association.
Retailers also caught the wave, as companies selling licensed goods online or in stores saw an increase in sales, said Daniel Butler, National Retail Federation's vice president of retail operations.
"As we have more and more people who have come from other parts of the world to live here, it's broadened the interest in the sport," he said. "There's potential down the road for this to be as big as the Super Bowl."
"And that's before the first goal was scored at the World Cup," Chief Executive Mark Parker said on a conference call.
Nine World Cup teams, including the United States and Brazil, are sporting Nike uniforms and England is wearing a jersey bearing the company's Umbro brand.
"A lot of people are following the game and rooting hard," said Gordon Charlop, managing director at Rosenblatt Securities from the floor of the New York Stock Exchange.
