BEHIND THE PLAY #16

I’m going to make Thursday newsletters short ones. At least for awhile. So welcome to ‘Shorts.’

I’ve already mentioned in a previous newsletter that playing soccer at UBC for five years was a very formative experience in a positive way for me. Yes, that’s partially because we were very successful on the field but these two photos capture the “why” of that very well.

Here’s the first:

That’s Ken Moysiuk aka Moyse the Noise because he always had something to say, me, Alex Percy and Dave Partridge universally known as Shank. It’s 1988 and we’re waiting for a ferry to take us from the Holyhead Ferry Terminal in Wales to Dublin for the last of four games in our tour of the UK and Ireland organized by Dick Mosher, the legendary UBC soccer coach. Shank wants some pizza, Moyse is having none of it and I’ve got a death grip keeping the lid of mine closed.

And here’s the second.

That’s Alex on the left with Shank just in behind him. I’m fifth from the left and Moyse is right next to me. It’s 2021 and we’re at a Celebration of Life for Dick Mosher at Thunderbird Stadium. We all met, plus several more not in this photo, earlier to have some beers in the parking lot and share stories. Many of those stories were from the 1988 trip, 33 years earlier.

Dick’s going to get his own BTP newsletter at some point because he truly was one of a kind but this is just a reminder of greatness in the form of longevity. In the form of teammates you’re happy to see whenever it happens. In the form of shared success and sadness, easy laughter, trust, memories and respect. It’s a gift from the game and if you’re as lucky as me it’ll be one of the best gifts you get.

_{A song you may not know but must surely like once you have. Keeping this issue nostalgic. Dean and Britta doing Words You Used to Say . (Apple Music) (Spotify)(YouTube)}

_{Note: all previous emails show in the ‘subscribe now’ link I have. They’re shareable from there if you’re the sharing kind. It’s getting a bit unwieldy though now that we’re up to #16 so I’ll probably start culling the ones available on the subscribe now URL.}