At halftime, Scicluna came out to the pitch and got a hold of one of the game balls. In street clothes and with a bad leg, he proceeded to entertain the crowd with a display of tricks, from balancing the ball on his forehead, doing push-ups with the ball balanced on his neck, and doing a handstand with the ball balanced on the bottom of his feet. Once he completed his routine, he bowed to the Silver Knight faithful, who applauded and cheered with delight. A moment of fun and sportsmanship not often seen in a regular sporting event.
However, the biggest impact from Scicluna may have not been at halftime nor during the game. No, it came once the final horn had sounded and the players had shaken hands. Scicluna, who had heard about the financial situation the Knight's are currently in, asked for a microphone to address the Syracuse fans. He exclaimed how delighted he and his team were about playing in front of such a large and loud crowd (Just over 3,000 in attendance.) He then motivated the crowd, telling them to keep coming back to support Tommy Tanner and the Silver Knights all season.
After he addressed the crowd, I was able to speak with Scicluna one-on-one. I asked him again about the Knight's situation and his address to the crowd. What he told me then, I cannot paraphrase nor will I try to summarize.
"Whoever loves Tommy and who ever loves soccer needs to get off their butts and do something. They need to become a part of the movement. They need to support the creative athletes who are giving back to their community. As matter a fact, the arena soccer game is one of the most underrated games in professional sports and if people come out, they are going to be thankful and they are going to appreciate it and they are going to love it. So they really need to get off their butts, get motivated because in this lifetime, the only way you have fun is to go get involved and not just sit there and watch the television set at home. Get off your butts Syracuse people and come support what Tommy and everybody's doing up here because it is a great product."
If he had a mic in his hands, it would have been dropped. With that statement, Scicluna has given Syracuse an ultimatum. Simply put, Syracuse needs to support the Silver Knights.