Although the film received positive reviews from The New York Times, New York Post, Irish Echo, and National Public Radio, Fitzgerald opted to release it immediately before receiving a traditional distribution deal.
On 25 February 2006, The Emerald Diamond debuted to a sold out crowd of 250 people at the Jacob Burns Film Center in New York.
He arranged to have the film's trailer played at Shea Stadium (New York), Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome (Minneapolis), and AT&T Park (San Francisco).
In addition, the film was featured by Fox News, National Public Radio and Boston's CBS-4.
The attraction of major media outlets is rare for a low-budget film, but was likely due to the underdog story of the Irish National Team, coupled with Fitzgerald's determination to make the film entirely on credit cards.