In an unforgettable home opener on Sunday at Yankee Stadium, expansion club New York City FC sent their 43,507 fans home with the perfect gift: a 2-0 win over the New England Revolution behind a dominant performance from Designated Player David Villa, who earned Player of the Week honors.
Apparently, that's not all the fans went home with.
New York City FC announced on Tuesday that the club's gameday merchandise sales were the highest in the 20-year history of Major League Soccer.
With 14 retail outlets at Yankee Stadium selling NYCFC apparel from 3 pm to 8:30 pm ET for a 5 pm game, the stadium was decorated in sky blue. NYCFC even sold out all 4,000 scarves that were stocked, while other popular items were replica jerseys, T-shirts and beanie hats (Sunday's game kicked off with a temperature of 41 degrees and saw gusting winds throughout).
“Our historic home opener was a very special day for our club," NYC FC president Tom Glick said in a club statement. "We were overwhelmed by the huge and vocal crowd who made Yankee Stadium their own. The demand for New York City FC merchandise at the game shows the appetite for the club and how eager our fans are to get behind their team.
"They weren’t just there to witness an extraordinary spectacle in the history of New York sports; they were buying into their team and showing their support.”
