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I think there was more media there than any soccer event I have ever been to. And throughout all the coverage you’re gonna see the only thing I can say I got that they don’t is this photo. It’s a keeper.

I’m gonna go with the annotated photo story for this one, because that’s sort of the hand I was dealt. Seated on the ground behind a goal isn’t the best place to watch the game, but it gets you some good camera angles. And from the looks of it–I mean people I knew from glossy magazines were there–you’re going to be hearing plenty about it. I’m hoping someone writes it up as a real game story. That would be fun to read. So on to the Steve Nash Foundation Charity Classic presented by (I didn’t recognize the logo on the t-shirt)…

(UPDATED WITH BEST VIDEO YOU WILL SEE OF THE EVENT)

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It was a well publicized affair with a solid list of athletes. A few additions to the reported list were Jozy Altidore and Juan Pablo Angel (didn’t play) among a lucky few “nobodys” and at least one ESPN staffer.

Alright, so the way the field is situated, in between two streets on what is essentially a giant median, there really isnt that much room for people. I knew this going in, from the plenty of hours logged on the few fields down there, and of course from back when this same field hosted FC Barcelona. More people showed up for this event–hey basketball players!!!–so pretty much everybody but maybe a few hundred people were left to find a creative sight line outside the cage.
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It is after all New York. I think this is a priceless jersey shot. Where else you gonna find that combo?

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any sight line available

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This group wasn’t having any of it. We came to play cards and damnit that’s what we’re gonna do.
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Henry was the first to arrive. Look around the field. Three, four, maybe five deep around the field. There was a large media section (I didn’t try getting a pass), and plenty “friends and family.” I think everyone had a great time, and I appreciate the location because it is my favorite soccer spot in town, but I couldn’t help but think that if this was at Pier 40 or somewhere else they would have been able to accommodate more people.
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Steve Nash rolled in with cameras following him. ESPN appeared to have a presence. I have a feeling you will be seeing much more of this.
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Baron Davis is my new favorite basketball player. He’s warming up here with a little goalkeeping against Jason Kidd.
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Team Blue
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Jason Kidd tried hard, sometimes very hard. Which is more than I can say for some of the soccer players. Overall the level of play was much more intense than I thought it would be. That being said, there was plenty lighthearted foolishness.
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This guy and the girl reaching through the fence to see his photos knew each other, were together, or something. I think this is what my photography professor would have called a good newspaper shot. Whatever, the point is remember that girl.
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Three fans of the beautiful game
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Let the game begin
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The basketball boys
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Gillette Fusion Power and, ummm, Just For Men?
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They tried to stop him…
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But in the end, all you can really do as the no-name keeper is lay there and say to yourself “I just got scored on my Thierry Henry.” It’s a good day’s work if you can get it. Cheers to this guy who said that he is “nobody” when queried, and that he was the poorest guy on the field. Not where the rest of us were sitting buddy. chin up.
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Salomon Kalou was hands-down the best player on the field today. For a second I didn’t hate Chelsea, and the whole Didier Drogba losing his mind wasn’t going to sour me on the Ivory Coast National Team. Just WOW, and he had this little grin on his face the whole time, as if he knew he was king here, whether Baron Davis could bench press 6 of him or not.
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Want to know what it looks like to be a keeper during an Henry penalty kick? hereyago.
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Please do it. Pass him the torch. Do it. Do it now.
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Ok, so Replay got their money’s worth. They seemed to have basically thrown the whole party. Every player had on a Replay t-shirt that you will now see in every image from the game. Oh, and these ladies were here for some reason, a reason apparently one of them was not too happy about, or something. My point is Steve Nash has friends. The kind of friends that MLS needs to have. And I’m not talking about the women. Vancouver are your listening?
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Baron Davis had the best time.
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Baron Davis had the best time.
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Remember that girl on the wrong side of the fence? So she got an imprint of said fence on her face from a rocket misfired from the field. Baron was there to make her feel better. Note how pscyhed the guy she was with is. Please note that Baron Davis had the best time.
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Kalou and Leandro Barbosa, the Brazilian Sixth Man Award winner for the Phoenix Suns. These two were the treat of the day for me. Both showed some serious flash on the field.
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So ESPN’s Marc Stein played along with this other gentlemen whose name I did not catch. Bless them both on that field. They made sure no one took anything too seriously. I imagine we will be hearing from Stein on the experience.
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makes you love your life…
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makes you hate your life.
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so maybe that whole coming to America for the anonymity thing doesn’t exactly hold true when you are Thierry Henry. The look in his eyes is painful.
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The official video by 13th Witness:

and another very good one from long-time TIAS friend Tony Miguel:

http://aplfilms.com/NASH.html