GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — With the U.S. soccer team advancing to the World Cup's round of 16, excitement for the tournament is building in West Michigan.
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Soccer fans at SpeakEZ Lounge celebrated the U.S. team's World Cup victory Wednesday night, and the win was welcome news for local soccer enthusiasts and businesses alike.
"It was great for us to get the win and advance," said Sam Chappell, founder of Grand Rapids Soccer Society.
The victory has broader implications for the local soccer community, according to Chappell.
"To have it be our guys that are succeeding and doing well, it makes it even better, and obviously it's good for business, because you have more people watching, more people want to play, and they're reminded how much they love the game," he said.
The Grand Rapids Soccer Society collaborated with Arvon Brewing to create a Mexican-style lager called Cerveza Mundial in honor of the World Cup. The partnership proved popular during watch parties.
"The watch parties have been awesome; we got our TVs on a big projector screen last night, it was a packed house, standing room only, and everybody was just here drinking the Cerveza Mundial, and just celebrating the victory," said Jake Stanko, Arvon Brewing Company co-owner and head brewer.
The collaboration came about through the owners' friendship and shared passion for soccer.
"I play with Sam on Fridays at his facility, and we thought that we should have the watch parties and also collaborate together on a beer for the World Cup," Stanko said.
"It was cool to just work with Jake and kind of say, hey, how do we create a beer that celebrates the World Cup?" Chappell added.
While the beer is currently a temporary offering, that could change depending on the team's performance.
"We'll see how it goes. We'll for sure have it on throughout the World Cup, but yeah, who knows, if they win it, maybe we'll keep it around forever," Stanko said.
The United States' next match is against Belgium on Monday, July 6 at 8 p.m., and will be broadcast on FOX17.
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