My 1st World Cup moment, was 20 Years ago yesterday. I was selling beer at Giants Stadium screaming Birra Freddo during the Italy vs. Ireland game in the 1994 World Cup trying to sell some beers. (When youre a young football coach you did what you had to do to pay the bills.) After the game I was walking hurriedly, slightly jogging out of the stadium lot weaving in and out of cars to get to a party. Coming up on a Pick up truck and out of no where, I slammed into a guy about my age, a pretty boy with a dumb looking ponytail like he was in Loverboy, who was sprinting out to a van. We both came around a corner from that pick up not seeing each other. We each banged into a parked cars and fell and we were both like What the Fuc_! After shaking off the cobwebs and dusting myself off a bit - I said excuse me, and he mumbled something too in an Italian accent but apologetic sounding - so I gave him a pass (lol). I asked if he was alright and he was holding his hip a little trying to get up. He then limped and jogged along his way to the already running awaiting van in the next row of cars in the parking lot. A minute later a guy who saw us run into each other came up to me, dressed in red Umbro shorts, old worn out Beckenbauers and an Red Adidas zip up (obviously a soccer fan) and said, Do you know who that was? As he finished saying that a small mob of non English speaking people were chasing after the guy who ran into me, mostly teens but many of them girls. I asked the guy Who? the guy said, He is the most famous athlete in the world. - Im thinking to myself, that wasnt Michael Jordan - he isnt Italian? I dont think....anyway. He said that was Baggio you just knocked down. Roberto Baggio was/is arguably one of the best players EVER from Italy. 2 days later I got an offer to coach in Tennessee - a few weeks go by and Im out in Nashville after moving out there, enjoying myself with some country folk and the World Cup Final comes on (Brazil vs. Italy) as I am having a beer at the Beer Cellar (good bar in downtown Nashville if you ever go). The game ends in regulation 0 - 0 and they go to a shoot out - and here comes my man Baggio up for a penalty kick - its 3-2 in penalty shots and he has to make it - as he sets the ball on the penalty line, he stands and he grabs his hip - Yeah that hip :) Backs up to line up his shot and misses over the cross bar if I remember correctly - maybe wide but he missed .....Italy loses the World Cup on that missed kick.......Gulp - Sorrrraaaayyyyyy...................... Moral to the story??
Posted on: Fri, 20 Jun 2014 00:34:36 +0000
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