Fencing is having a moment right now.

Since the Olympic Opening Ceremony on July 26, Google searches for the sport, its rules, and how to watch it have increased exponentially. The Olympic events in Paris’ Grand Palais have been packed with crowds cheering so loudly that it could be confused for a soccer match.

American fencers are all for it.

“It was surreal when I first walked into the venue and heard all of the fans going crazy and yelling and the whole venue erupting,” foil fencer Nick Itkin told NBCOlympics.com. “It was insane in there. … That’s what the sport needs [and it’s the moment] I dreamed for; for the sport to be treated like any of the other big sports.”

The supercharged crowd that greeted Itkin was fueled by the history-making bouts and upsets that took place in the days leading up to his event.

One of the biggest moments occurred when, in a surprise turn of events, Lee Kiefer and Lauren Scruggs became the first Americans to go 1-2 on the women’s individual foil Olympic podium.

“It’s so cool,” Kiefer said of facing Scruggs in the all-American final. “It was definitely a possibility, but for it to actually happen, it’s sick. It was crazy.”

Scruggs won a silver medal in her Olympic debut in Paris. She’s just one member of an emerging generation of American fencers who are making names for themselves as podium threats.

Itkin, who became the third U.S. fencer to score a medal in Paris when he won bronze in the men's foil individual event, headed into these Olympics as the world No. 2. Several of his fellow young teammates — Colin Heathcock, Mitchell Saron, Hadley Husisian, and Maia Weintraub — also entered the Olympics with at least one major podium finish in the past year.

“We’ve got so many young, talented fencers coming up. The sport’s growing and growing. We’re just excited,” five-time Olympian Gerek Meinhardt, who's also Kiefer's husband, said. Meinhardt and the rest of the U.S. men’s foil team, Alexander Massialas and Miles Chamley-Watson, have been mentoring Itkin ever since he joined as the youngest member of the team five years ago.

“We’re on a great trajectory, for real,” Itkin said. “There were four older guys [Meinhardt, Massialas, Chamley-Watson, and Race Imboden] that set the standard of really high-level results and I had to push myself so much more to be able to make that team.”

Due to the success of American fencers, the next generation of talent now knows the caliber they have to compete at to make Team USA, according to Itkin.

“We have a really strong junior squad. The junior squad is winning medals internationally as well as in the junior division tournament,” Itkin said. “The future looks really bright.”

“They’re going to set their goals to be here [at the Olympics]. And they can be because they’re that good,” Kiefer said. “But I think having us do it first will make it easier for them.”

For now, the present focus is on the team events still to come in Paris. The women's foil team event, featuring Kiefer and Scruggs, is set for Thursday, August 1. The men's foil team event, which includes Itkin and Meinhardt, will follow on Sunday, August 4.

The fencers are just excited to perform as well as they can.

“I want to bring the same energy I brought to the individual event,” Scruggs said of what she’s looking forward to in the women’s team foil event. “A lot of [the match] is just bringing energy. It’s super important to the team event. You’ve got to bring the energy and passion.”

“We’re one of the most prepared we’ve been,” Itkin said. “I think this is just really an opportunity to do something special for the first time in U.S. men’s fencing history. [Winning] would be everything we’ve worked so hard for.”

As the crowds roar, viewer counts grow, and Google searches increase, American fencing has already won two things: more fans and the invaluable opportunity to inspire a new generation of fencers.

“That [is] one of the bigger dreams come true,” Itkin said. “Just to see how much this sport has grown and it’s just growing so much more.”