Sharkey’s Eclectic Sports Lounge was decorated in Syracuse University colors Thursday, giving local alumni who couldn’t make it to the New Era Pinstripe Bowl at Yankee Stadium a chance to celebrate and watch the game with other fans.

The event was one of many gatherings held throughout the country Thursday afternoon for Orange fans to watch the game. Regional alumni clubs hosted events in major cities including Phoenix, San Francisco, Boston and Philadelphia.

Sharkey’s, a sports bar and restaurant located in Liverpool, and the SU Alumni Club of Central New York hosted the local viewing party in a back room the alumni club rented out. The entire restaurant was decked out in orange and blue, including an inflatable Otto, with an estimated 100 people to watch the game that started at 3:20 p.m.

‘It was a lot of fun, reconnected with some old classmates, watched them win,’ said Ryan York, a 2006 graduate who organized the event at Sharkey’s for the alumni club.

York had set up the back room specifically for the alumni, but only nine or ten people actually entered it, with most staying outside in the bar area for the game. He said that was likely because the alumni club promoted the bar establishment but never specified there was a separate room for SU graduates.

It was York, who drives by the establishment every day, who chose Sharkey’s as the venue. He said he thought not many people recognized Sharkey’s as a popular spot to go, and that it could be a good opportunity for the alumni club use the bar and restaurant to host more events.

For Sharkey’s the game is good for business. Chris Moreland, the proprietor of the bar, said that a usual Thursday afternoon wouldn’t be as bustling without the bowl game. Moreland, a lifelong Orange fan and Liverpool resident, said Sharkey’s planned to make the event as exciting as possible.

Moreland said he has seen York in Sharkey’s before, so he wasn’t surprised that York chose Sharkey’s as the place for Syracuse alumni to hang out and watch the game.

In addition to holding this event for the alumni, Sharkey’s is the official tailgating spot for SU athletics during football and basketball seasons. For each game, the business offers free shuttles to the sporting events. Moreland estimates between 200 to 300 fans stay at the bar.

‘For Syracuse to be back in the bowl ranks, that’s great for the community and great restaurant business,’ Moreland said.

dgproppe@syr.edu

Published on December 30, 2010 at 12:00 pm