The Beautiful Game

The World Cup is here at last but it will be a bittersweet experience for many of us due to the senseless and horrific fatal shooting of one of our brothers last weekend in St Louis. A man whom I have played with and against for years and who has been a staple of the University City soccer community is no longer with us leaving behind a grieving and stunned group of players, friends, and comrades who will undoubtedly be watching the games with a heavy heart and sense of loss.

Ahmed was from Libya and had immigrated to America over twenty years ago. He owned the fabulous Gyro House (a place where my parents are regulars and I’ve enjoyed the massive gyro salad many times) on the U City loop and was a stalwart on the U-City seniors team, who have collected an impressive array of hardware over the last five years. I can’t say I knew the man very well off the field, but on the field I was in awe, as was everyone else, of his ridiculous right-footed shot that would somehow find the net the moment the defender let down his guard conceding a nearly impossible angle—we’ve seen it countless times and we will not see it again. He was never offsides (so he thought), would let you know exactly where and how he wanted the ball and if you could deliver it he would never disappoint.

Backing up for a moment, it’s important to explain how and why I was playing on the same field as a Muslim from Libya who is nearly my dad’s age. As anyone who knows me at all could tell you I obviously love football (American soccer). I’ve been playing with my dad and brother since I was a little kid and have met so many great people through my experiences. I have been fortunate to be a part of multi-cultural groups of various backgrounds in both Columbia and St Louis where age, W-2’s, religion, skin color, gender, and political affiliations have absolutely no bearing when we take the field. We all share a common bond, which is our mutual love for the beautiful game. Through this bond many of us have made the unlikeliest of friends whom we probably would have never met, talked to, or known otherwise. University City has a wonderfully diverse soccer community where this quality of friendly camaraderie draws people of all ages and colors together for kick-arounds, indoor games, and pub gatherings to watch football. Whenever I go home I enjoy the Perlow cubed, which is where my dad, brother and I play on the same team. The last time I took the field with the other Perlow boys Ahmed was on the other side.

Having so much free time in the office I read the news every single day, and it’s rarely good. After filtering out all of the ridiculous and banal Sandra Bullock, Gary Coleman’s divorce, and Lady Gaga distractions I read about BP, North Korea, Iran, Afghanistan, the deflating Euro, and so on and so on and so on. With this daily preponderance of scary and horrible news there are “smaller” tragedies such as Ahmed’s which happen all over America every day that don’t so much as make a ripple in the headlines. One might think this world has gone completely insane and things have spiraled hopelessly out of control.

But then, I take the field with my brother, my father, and my multi-national family and suddenly everything is right. Differences are forgotten and everyone is equal. The rich businessman is no more important than the poor waiter. The Persian auto shop worker scores a goal and is embraced by the white college student. A bulky African defender fouls the Jewish Professor and helps him up and asks if he’s okay. There are no trophies and we’re all going to work tomorrow living very different lives but none of that matters because we all love playing the game and love playing it together. Ahmed was a paradigm of this and because of it he leaves behind a diverse group of friends of various ages and ethnicities who will surely be thinking of him throughout the World Cup. We will honor his memory the best way we know how: by playing the beautiful game and celebrating our diversity.

On that note, it is my hope that this World Cup will be a beacon of hope for a world that sorely needs it. I wish that just for a month all of the world can stop and appreciate the uniqueness of every culture while knowing that they all are playing the same game that we love. Maybe for a month guns can be put down, politicians would stop bickering, BP would… alright, you jackasses get to work and plug the hole--no breaks for you, and we could all appreciate what is great about the world: The beautiful game. As USA beats England this weekend I’ll be thinking about my old teammates and extended soccer family back home and wishing them a great month as we pay our respect to Ahmed by celebrating his passion together. May he rest in peace as we spend a peaceful and entertaining World Cup with our families, teammates and friends.