In the presence of greatness..

Arlo White is the “Voice of the Seattle Sounders FC” and a native of Leicester, England.  He walked up to the microphone in the Rainier Tower Club at a dinner recently and said, “What an exciting week it is for soccer in Seattle.  See, I can say the word!”  It’s hard for Brits to say soccer because they’ve called the game “football” for hundreds of years.  Here we call it soccer because we were already playing our game of football when the round ball showed up.  The rest of the world, except for a few English speaking countries like Australia and some parts of Ireland, calls it football.

There’s more to that story and I could go on but I’m writing this because, earlier this summer, we did indeed experience “an exciting week” of soccer in Seattle.  Manchester United, the darlings of the English Premier League, came to the US for a series of “friendly” matches (read “exhibition”) from coast to coast.  Billed as the world’s largest and most successful sports franchise, United spent more time in Seattle during their US tour than any other city and that’s testament to our own Seattle Sounders, who have the best fan base in this country’s professional sport of Major League Soccer. (Another quick inside note: Americans tend to call the English team ManU but they don’t.  It’s United or the Reds.) 

We were asked to give some help to United’s global sponsor Aon, a leading risk management services firm based in Chicago, as they put together the events surrounding the tour.  In addition to an exciting evening of friend- and fund-raising for the Initiative for Global Development, started by Bill Ruckelshaus and Bill Gates, Sr. (among others) to help stop poverty in the world through economic development, I thought it would be interesting to bring Aon and United together with another great, world renowned glass artist Dale Chihuly.  Dale loves soccer and his son Jackson keeps him right on the edge of his seat for every Sounders match.

When I proposed the gathering to Dale, he thought it would be fun to bring the team and its coaches to his boathouse and hot shop and give them an inside look at the making of glass art.  It wasn’t easy to get the schedules in synch but it finally came together.  And quite an evening it was.

The best picture of the evening remains only in my mind because I couldn’t get to my iPhone fast enough.  When the team arrived at the boathouse, they were met by Billy O’Neill, the Director of Chihuly Studio and a former soccer coach.  As Billy turned to lead the team through the double doors into the hot shop, he had a look of determination on his face that said, even for just a moment, “I’m leading this team into the stadium in Manchester and we’re the best in the world.”  Ah, fantasy!! Isn’t it great. Sorry I missed the pic, Billy.

It was  interesting to watch the team settle into the rhythm of glass blowing.  These are athletes of the highest order.  One of them told me the main reason they like to come to the US is because they can be themselves in public and have some fun.  Few people, if any, recognize them.  With 350 million fans around the world, they’re mobbed almost anywhere else they go.  But here, you literally need a program to know the players.

United is very proud of its 19 wins of the English Premier League trophy, which can be considered the Super Bowl of soccer.  And they take the trophy everywhere they go.  The trophy itself has two security guards and they have to buy a seat for the trophy when flying.  The case goes in the cargo hold but the trophy flies in the cabin between the two.

After the team entered the boathouse, the trophy made its way in.  Once unpacked and placed on a sturdy pedestal in front of the hot shop furnaces, EVERYONE wanted to have their photo taken with the trophy. Dale and wife Leslie and son Jackson were the last in line.  Once their photos were taken, Dale motioned for everyone to gather round.

“I’ve been trying to decide what would be the best way to show you all the art of glass blowing.  I think I’ve got it now.  What would you think if we made a Premier League Trophy out of glass?”  he asked.  A few heads nodded in bewilderment.  “I think we can make this trophy in glass to take home with you.  What color should it be?”  “RED!” (the team color) was the resounding response in unison and so it began.  As dinner and the evening went on, the trophy began to take shape.  “The handles are the hard part,” Dale said.  “They’re so long.”

It wasn’t finished that evening, mainly because extra care had to be taken when making the crown.  But before the team left Seattle, it was presented to them with great pride.  And, in response, the team announced that they had already begun to expand the trophy case at the stadium in Manchester so that both trophies could be displayed side-by-side for the world to see.  Dale was very happy.

The US tour was great for United and for Aon, who entertained clients and prospects at every stop.  The match with the Sounders (Manchester won 7 to nil) was just as it was explained to me at dinner the night before by one of the United’s.  “Sir Alex (Ferguson, the manager) wants to concentrate on defense during the first half.  He has some players he will try at different positions.   In the second half, he will put the best offensive players in for ten minutes or so because they need to get a workout,” he said. 

I love the Sounders and I’m proud of them but this match was played at a whole different level of competition.  During the first half when United was playing its defense, we hardly got close to their goal.  And in the second half, when they were playing offense, United scored 5 of their 7 goals during that ten minutes with their best offense.  On at least two occasions, there were two United players standing in front of our goal kicking the ball back and forth with no opposition, as if to say “you take it.”  “ no, you take it.”   “no, you…”  and then they scored.  One of my former DDB colleagues, who is a die-hard Sounders fan, texted me during the match to say, "Ouch! This is painful."

Manchester United could have been the 1929  New York Yankees.   When you’re in the presence of greatness, you can feel it.  Here is a sports franchise that took its current form in 1902 and has grown and prospered with time.  As our Sounders say, it is “the world’s game”.  And the young men from Manchester United represent it well.  They are focused.  They present themselves well. They are professional. They are courteous and well-spoken.  There is a lot to be said for civility…in sport and in life.

Last weekend, the news hit that United had beaten rival Arsenal from London, 8-2, in a Premier League match-up.  That’s a crushing defeat in English soccer terms.  “You feel humiliated when you concede 8 goals,” said the Arsenal manager.  First time they’ve given up that many in 115 years.  The New York Times soccer blogger said, “Sunday’s one-sided result at Old Trafford in the English Premier League was pretty well summed up by my son:  ‘If ManU (see what I mean about Americans and the name) can do this to Arsenal, what are they going to do to the rest of the (Premier League)?’ “  Wow, these guys are something else!

It was a very special experience spending time with Manchester United’s team.  Aon is feeling the strength and benefit of its global sponsorship all around the world.  Sport plays an important role in bringing our world together and so does art.  When two greats come together, the result can be magic.  Dale Chihuly has been a mentor and teacher to many and Manchester United’s players are the highest caliber role models for youth today.  What an “exciting week” it was in Seattle AND we got our photo with the Premier League Trophy!