I saw Joe Cole (one of my mid-fielders) play in a match between West Ham United and Norwich in Norwich, England in 2002. At the time, I had no idea who Joe Cole was. I just noticed he was a notch above most of the other players on the field, faster and more aggressive, easily beating defenders with tricky moves and dribbling toward the goal. West Ham won that game 3-1, and I think Joe Cole scored 2 goals of the winning 3.
Nada's mom's cousin's husband, Syd, treated me to the game (his company was the program sponsor of the match), and we'd been drinking before the game in the VIP lounge, and at the half-time break (drinks aren't allowed in the stands during playing time, so everyone rushes for the bar at half-time). Thomas, Syd's 17 year old son, was the designated driver. A good thing b/c we'd all had too much to drink and the roads leading to their house are twisting, dark, narrow lanes through the country, usually wide enough for only 1 car. I remember Syd saying of an overweight woman in the car in front of us on the drive home, "She must weigh 50 stone". Which was hilarious b/c I did the quick math and it came out to 700 pounds. I digress...
A couple of years later, I saw Joe Cole playing for England in the World Cup on TV, and realized I'd been watching a special player (at least, a world-class player) a couple of years before. Now he plays for Chelsea and he's always exciting to watch. Very creative/instinctive with the ball.
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