…you can take your current student athletes to watch former student athletes play in a professional match. That is what I had the pleasure to do last Saturday afternoon at UCSB. Joanna, Sage, and Cassie (members of the current girls’ varsity soccer team) and I went to see the MLS Chicago Fire reserves play against the UCSB Gauchos in an exciting 1-1 draw. Yes, the tortillas rained down from the stands when UCSB scored the equalizer. The later match saw the starters of the Chicago Fire play against the San Jose Earthquakes. Before that match I was able to catch up with one of my former students, Jeff Larentowicz, who is a member of the Fire and a player on the U.S. National team. Jeff greeted the girls, asked them about their season, and in the process expanded his fan base. The bonus of the evening was that another one of my former students and classmate of Jeff’s, Dan Gargan, recently joined the Earthquakes and we were able to meet up with him too. The girls were impressed with the games and how nice both Jeff and Dan were. I don’t remember them being as nice in their middle school years, but they sure a great adults.
FYI: Jeff scored the only goal on a penalty kick as the Fire defeated the Earthquakes 1-0.