Over the summer, the United States rallied around a group of soccer players that seemed destined to arrive at a milestone many before had never reached, the second stage of the FIFA World Cup. In most countries, this is a given. But the U.S. soccer team has traditionally not stayed alive in the World Cup for very long.

While American sports fans typically watch the Olympics basketball team win countless gold medals, they do not usually tune in to see soccer star Landon Donovan score a game-winning goal in the final seconds to help his team advance past pool play.

While soccer may be a sport that is nationally loved in several other countries, few Americans have soccer at the top of their lists. For example, this year’s Super Bowl was watched by more than 106 million viewers, while the MLS Cup was seen by a mere 1 million viewers.

The one resounding question that keeps coming up after the World Cup is a simple one – do Americans care more about soccer now? Or did they just love watching this year’s World Cup?

“The World Cup definitely raises awareness, as far as soccer is concerned, in the U.S., where the sport is not quite as popular as it is in other countries,” senior midfielder Chris Zuerner said. “By people seeing how great the World Cup was, and soccer as a whole, I think that will definitely inspire people to come out and see us play and increase attendance.”

The Wolfpack certainly hopes students who are soccer fans will come out and support the team when it opens the season Friday night at the Duke/Nike Classic in Durham. State opens the season against Sacramento State University, a team ranked no. 28 in preseason polls.

“The Duke Tournament is a special event, and I hope that in general there will be more fans, not just from N.C. State, but also Triangle fans hopefully coming out to see a good game,” Zuerner said. “It’s a great game and to see it played at a high level is such a privilege. We hope we can bring that to the field this weekend.”

Zuerner has proven so far this season that he is ready to lead the Pack from the midfield position. He started in all 22 games last year and is the team’s top returning scorer. He finished with four goals and five assists on the season. State is a much younger and more inexperienced team compared to last year’s, but with a freshman class ranked No. 19 coming in, coach George Tarantini said he hopes fans come out to watch his team play.

“What’s terrific is that the World Cup showed fans a way they can participate, much like in football, soccer requires participation from the crowd,” Tarantini said. “I saw a vuvuzela in the crowd the other day, and it showed me that fans watched the World Cup. We love for people to come out to watch us, but we feel like we need to put on a show for them and keep attracting them to come.”

Any fans who felt excitement from the World Cup might want to make the trip out to the Duke/Nike Tournament this weekend. The Pack will be taking on the Sacramento State Hornets on Friday, but will also play Louisville, ranked No. 20 in the NSCAA poll and No. 24 by CollegeSoccerNews.com, Sunday.

“We are excited to play this weekend. The men have worked very hard for this season to start,” Tarantini said. “The Hornets are a very talented and quick team who will be coming to the Triangle looking to win. The Duke Tournament is a great showcase for what we will do the rest of the year, and we feel very optimistic about our possibilities.”