Auf Wiedersehen, Andi

The German World Cup winner, footballer Andreas Brehme, has died. I feel compelled to mention the time that I met him. 

It was July 1994, and I was spending the summer interning in the (then) UAHC Education Department at 838 5th Avenue, NY. At that time I was still a naughty smoker, and would pop out at lunchtime for a quick ciggie in the park. 

I was on my way back to the office, when I was passed by a gentleman who reminded me of Asterix the Gaul.

I realised that Andi Brehme was walking down 5th Avenue. Germany had just gone out of the World Cup to Bulgaria, and he was taking in the sights. I increased my pace to try and catch up, with no idea what or if I would say anything. I caught up with him just before the main door of 838. I tapped him on the shoulder, smiled, and said, "Schade Andi, aber gut gespielt!", then turned into the building. As I turned I could see his furrowed brow, trying to figure out how a woman had spoken to him about football in perfect German on a NY street and then disappeared through a door under a gigantic stone Biblical quotation.

It was sad to hear of his death. He was really quite young. Here is a link if you'd like to know more about his career:  BBC Sport.

 

Ron Phillips RIP

Was more than saddened to hear the news today that Ron Phillips died recently. As Club Secretary of Queens Park Rangers FC, he had the habit of giving photo passes to aspiring young photographers, and printing their pics if they were decent. As one who benefited from this scheme, Ron had a massive influence on the trajectory of my career, and I will always be grateful for his kindness. 

These pics were taken at the Baron's Court Theatre in 2015 when MP, MH & I interviewed Ron for a fanzine. I wonder if the memoir he showed us will ever be published - he certainly had some great QPR stories. Meanwhile, two particular contributions he made to the club history were the checkered programme covers and the removal of the apostrophe from the club's name. May he rest in peace, and my condolences to his family and friends.

Cheers, Mr Motson!

News just coming through from London that the commentator John Motson has died at the age of 77. That is pretty young these days. I am really sad to hear this - he was such a lovely man. Above I have shared a letter that he wrote to me many years ago. You can see how kind he was. It so happened that we met at the Wimbledon pre-season photoshoot. Mr Motson asked if I would take a pic of him holding the FA Cup (won by Wimbledon the previous season) that he could give to his dad. I said I'd take one of him if he'd take one of me for my dad! The photo of him is in storage, but here is the one he took of me, glorious 1980s hair 'n' all. My condolences to his loved ones, and may he rest in peace.

Adios Edson Arantes do Nascimento

 

Farewell to Pele, who died yesterday. All arguments regarding GOATs (Messi is better than Ronaldo is better than Zlatan or Lewandowski) are irrelevant here as there can be only one, and it is Pele. Here is an obituary in the Guardian.

I took this photo in August 1987 at Wembley before the Football League XI game vs the Rest of the World (when Maradona came out of the tunnel waving his "Hand of God" at the crowd!). It got me into a bit of trouble as I had fibbed I was unwell so I wouldn't have to go to a batmitzvah party after synagogue because I had a pass to photograph this match. 

Before the game started, there was a crowd in the centre circle of the pitch. I couldn't see what was going on, but needed to get a shot for my boss, and I was too short to see over the other photographers, so I crawled between their legs and stood up in the front. I found myself in front of a tv camera which was recording an interview with Pele, and was immediately shoved back down to the ground. However, this was not before my face appeared live onscreen, and my lie was thus discovered.

But I got the shot. And an autograph. RIP dear GOAT.

Farewell Roger Angell

You may not be a baseball fan, but if you are a fan of a team in any sport, and/or enjoy writing that is more than just a simple description of who won and how, then Roger Angell was and is someone to read. 

The BBC report of Angell's death quotes from a 1982 interview in which he said:

"I think the real fans are the fans of terrible teams, because they know what good baseball is and they know how far their own players fall short ... The rallying cry that has always struck me as so poignant and beautiful is, 'Come on, you bum!' which means, 'We know you're no good but we want to win.'"

My one true love is, of course, QPR. But I have followed my Yankees for many decades, and have in inkling (enough to translate, for example, 'you bum' into 'you w@nker'). I have greatly enjoyed Angell's work, and wish him eternal peace.

An overview from Wikipedia

A kind of obit over on ESPN

In Memoriam from the New Yorker

Glenn Roeder RIP

 

The week that he signed from Leyton Orient, he came to the next QPR match. On our way home, I spotted Glenn Roeder across from us in the carriage of the Central Line train heading east from White City. My dad went over and had a lovely chat with him, welcoming him to Loftus Road and talking about the club. After that we always looked out for where he was and what he was doing.

A gentleman from beginning to end - may he rest in peace. My condolences to all who loved him.