Soccer Nightmares, Soccer Dreams
I did this solo show at what is now the Rockwell Theater in Somerville in April 2007, spoken word in front of video
Nelson Mandela at the African Nations Cup final
Johannesburg 1996.
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The first time a South African team had ever played in the light of day.
Here's a story and a video
Hand of God
Argentina vs. England 1986
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The most famous goal in World Cup history.
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Maradona cheats by punching the ball,
but the ref looks away.
Hand of God- the English version
Here's how the English saw it:
profane, immoral, flagrant
Hand of God- the Argentine version
Here's how Argentina saw it:
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transcendent, divinely willed,
revenge for the Falklands
Jah Equalize
Jamaica v. Croatia 1998
On our honeymoon France 1998, we had tickets to the World Cup group stage Jamaica v. Croatia. Croatia was one of the best teams in Europe, Jamaica was supposed to be their sacrificial victim.
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Croat fans fresh from the Balkan War chanted
heavy metal under flares and gunpowder clouds,
The Jamaican fans from London sang Bob Marley
under a very different kind of cloud.
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And then just before halftime, Robbie Earle got his head to a cross in the penalty area, and we were delirious, a moment untouched by Time.
I Love You Tiffeny Milbrett
My favorite player for the US Women's team.
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She reminds me of my wife Donene: short, feisty, smart, quick, takes no shit from bullies.
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Her goal against Germany 1999 was astonishing.
The German back line was frozen
while she thought two seconds ahead
and flew past them into the future.
She had come unstuck in time.
Your Boys Took One Hell of a Beating
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Norway v. England
September 1981
This is a four-video sequence about what happened to England in the 1980s.
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England's fall from grace, and how the rest of the world exulted in it.
The Enemy Within
Thatcherism and the hooligan menace
fed on each other.
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The Heysel riot,
the Hillsborough disaster,
the death of English football
enforced by tear gas
and Tory truncheons.
No Future
The despair in the stands
had an effect on the pitch.
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England crashed out of the 1988 European championship, losing to Ireland.
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English stars Gary Lineker,
Peter Beardsley, Chris Waddle
were paralyzed, helpless
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No hope without joy.
The Goal that Ended Thatcherism
England v Germany 1990
July 4, 1990
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At an Irish bar in San Francisco
for the Germany-England World Cup semi-final.
I had to keep quiet about my sympathies,
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At the end of regulation
Gary Lineker guided a long ball off his thigh
past the German defender
and drilled an inch-perfect shot
inside the far post.
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The Irish and German fans in the pub spat abuse at Paul Parker,
the small Black English wingback
who put the cross in.
But the English erupted in a long-denied joy.
Two weeks later, Margaret Thatcher resigned.
The Greatest Goal in Human History
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Michael Anderson
Pumas FC vs. Atletico Marin
August 30, 1991
Catcher in the Rye
I played goalkeeper from high school until age 50.
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I was MVP in the Little Rock Sunday league in 1988,
and Best Defender in the North Bay Latin League 1993
Mea Culpa
(music by David Byrne and Brian Eno)
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Saving and failing to save
in the North Bay Latin League
1991-93
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Arsenal FC
I discovered Arsenal Football Club in 1993, when my mom brought back
Nick Hornby's Fever Pitch from London.
Of course this allegiance is arbitrary. But aren't ALL allegiances arbitrary,
born of a need to be in a community?
I used to be self-conscious being pretentious,
a sad middle-aged American wannabe
pretending to be a North London Gooner.
But at some point, the sheer persistence of an obsession
makes people think you're crazy and weird.
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Which is the opposite of pretentious.
Arsenal resemble the Red Sox,
perennial underachievers who resent the loss of their old glories.
There should be a German word like schadenfreude to describe
"taking pleasure in
one's own suffering."
I send in videos to the indy fan channel
Arsenal Fan TV after matches
dropping Shakespeare quotes.
I love the live chat responses from the fan base:
"who is this old American twat quoting Bible verses?" "Dafuq is this guy saying?!"
"Loool I love this guy. Man did a monologue."
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After we beat Man Utd,
the AFTV studio posted a mashup
of my Henry V rant
with London rapper Roadman.
I can die happy now.
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Arsenal Haiku
Tomiyasu's chip
Floats down like a falling leaf
Martinelli! GOAL
We run in circles
Confusing, confused, until
Jesus finds heaven
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The ball flies toward death
Ramsdale claws at it: despair!
No, brother, that's hope
Donene says Saka
is such a sweet darling boy
But lethal in space
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De Gea gets fouled
By his own man. Smith-Rowe says:
"Not my problem, dude."
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The minstrel boy has
Gone to war, cutting inside
GOAL! O frabjous day!
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It's not defending
When you kick him in the gut
Come on Granit, chill
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Kill the fatted calf
Prodigal son hits it - BOOM
All is forgiven
Cut through Chelsea's line
Persistence is a virtue
God we needed that
John Bercow,
Speaker of the UK House of Commons
on Arsenal Fan TV
Arsenal fan John Bercow
taunting Tottenham and Man Utd
in the House of Commons
Evidence that Elizabeth II
is an Arsenal supporter
Jackson at
Arsenal v Crystal Palace 2014