Soccer Team Owner

 I am comically old school American when it comes to sports. I love baseball, football, basketball, and when the Panthers are winning, hockey. To me, those are the "Big 4," and other things that get huge followings, like motorsports, golf, tennis, and especially soccer -- well -- that ain't me, babe.

Well, Fate has a wicked, probably peri-menopausal sense of humor, and D1 married a Colombian born man -- to him and his family, there is ONLY golf and soccer -- especially the latter as spectators. Joey's brother Bob, and exec at Zumba, the exercise company, recently followed his childhood dream -- he BOUGHT a soccer team! He had put a LOT of his substantial money, and all of his efforts, into a new team in Naples, Fla -- FC Naples. I think I just learned a few years ago that FC stands for "football club," that's how ignorant I am about the game where nothing really happens for hours and then you think it's over but it's not because of "extra time" that seems to be at the sole discretion of refs who flash red or yellow cards for some reason...

Anyway, Joey got involved as an investor, and younger brother Alan is involved, too. Bob has heavy hitter investors, and Naples is thrilled. Years ago, they built a stadium with bond money called Paradise Sports Center, hoping to attract pro teams, and Bob's is the first. Naples is welcoming him like they welcome rich, Midwestern WASPs moving to the gated communities of that upscale city.

I watched and cheered from afar, and then at Rosh Hashanah Bob approached me -- would I like to be involved as an investor? Truth is -- not really -- but Bob called a few days later and said they were in the midst of another traunch of investments. The dollar levels were WAY above what I considered, but Bob said friends and family could get in for a much smaller amount -- and so I was lured in -- mostly to be able to make the 1.5 hour drive with my son in law and grandsons and feel I was a part of the excitement.

Sure enough, today the docs arrived online via DOCUSIGN, which I actually can navigate, and tomorrow I will be visiting the bank to wire the funds.

I texted Bob the confirmation, and said I looked forward to toasting with him when the team scores its first touchdown! I made sure he knew I would be Consultant in Charge of Non Soccer Jokes -- and he loves that. But the truth is, I AM excited -- mostly for him and his family, but now because I will have a financial as well as rooting interest.

Do I expect to make any money? Not really, though the demographics are solid. Turns out, from Naples, the closest pro sports team is the Panthers, in Sunrise. Florida is so long and narrow, Naples is closer to NW Broward than it is to Tampa. Who knew? Probably anyone with any real sense of geography.

And Naples is growing, and the locals must be looking for stuff to do other than golf and drinking and fishing, I would guess. And I also realize I am in the minority -- people LOVE soccer -- so much that a recent match between South American rivals caused major vandalism at Joe Robbie Stadium and many arrests. Even Canes/Notre Dame didn't cause that much passion.

So I say Dale FC Naples! Joey and Little Man are headed there next weekend, and the weekend AFTER T Day, D1 and Joey and both boys are going --there's some resort called Wolf Lodge nearby, which is supposed to be tons of fun for kids. 

My mind always goes back to college with my boys -- Eric, Barry, and I and a rotating cast of characters like Mike, Mark, Jorge, and Colin (really Wing Wong Wei -- his real name) sitting around the formica table in the WW II era apartment building, discussing life. We thought we knew SO much then -- and had clear paths set for our futures.

I guarantee that even the germ of an idea that I would invest in a soccer team with my Colombian consuegros didn't exist. So you just never know...