Syracuse, NY – Whenever the English Premier League team, Arsenal Football Club, has a game, fans nearly 3,000 miles away in Downtown Syracuse are glued to the televisions at Wolff’s Biergarten watching.
“We’ve been through the ups and downs, the highs and lows, the surprises, the joy, all of it together.” Arsenal fan Jessica Petito said. “It’s a lot more fun to watch it like that for sure.”
The “Syracuse Gooners” are one of the largest soccer fan clubs in Central New York. Founded in the early 2010s, the group is one of nearly 100 recognized fan clubs by Arsenal in the United States.
“It’s almost like a sorority or a fraternity,” Petito said. “I’ve gone to Boston and everybody is just so welcoming. So I always try to do that when people come here from somewhere.”
Petito has been a part of the group for over decade. She’s seen it grow from just three people to new faces every week.
“I met a group of kids my first week at (Syracuse University),” Arsenal fan Zach Brown said. “They told me, ‘Hey we found this great bar we can go to and watch the game.’ They told me how great the community was and how it always gets packed for Arsenal games.”
That aspect of community is what many fans have found with the “Syracuse Gooners.” A group where everyone, even fans of the other team, are welcomed.
“I feel like whether it’s Arsenal or any other team,” Wolff’s Biergarten bartender Holden White said. “It’s a great bar. We have great people. No matter who you are (you are welcomed.”
It certainly helps if you’re an Arsenal fan.
“It’s just such a diverse group of people that I would probably, otherwise, not be hanging out with, that are now my best friends,” Petito said.