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San Diego Fusion Fusion, heckler take shots at visiting Denver club By Larry Knowles April 17, 2006 La Mesa, CA--The SoCal Fusion, a new semi-pro soccer team in San Diego, got a goal from Brian O'Connor and several cheap shots from a supportive heckler en route to a 1-1 tie against fellow NPSL club, the Denver Kickers. It was an inauspicious beginning for the Fusion, a team jointly managed by local soccer promoters Terry DeMuth and Alex Monnar. Sheets of rain fell before and during during the match, keeping the opening day crowd to a cozy thirty spectators. In addition, the scoreboard was on the fritz, and rosters never made it to the stadium, leaving the crowd to wonder who was playing, who was taking shots, and even what the score was.
And they’d likely reminisce about the heckler, too. You couldn’t miss him. Nobody knew who he was, but he stood alone in the rain, in the first few rows of the stands, baiting the refs and the visitors from Denver. He lingered menacingly in the front of the stands, occasionally sipping an undetermined beverage in a plastic slurpy cup. He was good—very good—and drove the entire Denver bench to distraction. In fact, for stretches of the match, Kickers reserves paid more attention to the heckler than the action on the field. In the second half, the unknown (and unheralded) critic leaned against the chain link fence and jawed with Denver players. Several single digit gestures punctuated the exchanges. On this evening, the heckler’s shots were better than any the Fusion could muster. In response to a Denver player who cried for a foul, the heckler barked, “Who’s louder in bed, you or your girlfriend!” “Sorry,” he yelled an instant later, “I mean you or your boyfriend.” A Kicker gave a universal visual sign of disapproval. “Sounds like someone’s a little insecure about their masculinity,” John Q. Heckler replied. The guy was unstoppable—the Ronaldinho of hecklers. Minutes later, a Kicker reserve took offense to a separate comment and yelled something back. “I can’t hear you!” the rabid fan cried. “If you want to have a conversation, turn around and talk to me!” After a scoreless first half the on-field action got almost as hot as the off-field action. In the nineteenth minute, the Fusion got their first goal in franchise history when forward Brian O’Connor got free on the left wing and coolly slid a shot to the far post. “I knew the goalie was coming out,” O’Connor said. “I didn’t even look up. I just knew I was going to hit it far post.” Five minutes later, however, the Kickers got the equalizer on a misplay by the Fusion substitute keeper. The goalie stopped a cross, but bobbled the ball and dropped it at the feet of Denver forward Josh Veryser. The Kicker quickly shot the ball from about two feet out, into an empty net. “The keeper coughed up the ball, maybe because it was wet,” Veryser said, “and he was a sitting duck.” “You gonna write about the heckler?” he asked. The Denver player was told that the unknown critic would indeed make the article. After all, the dude took more shots than anyone on the field. Check out other amateur soccer matches covered by Vyuz... Nomads stage improbable comeback | By Larry Knowles Nomads wander, then find the net | By Larry Knowles Arsenal takes its game to a higher level, defeats Sudaca 5-2 | By Larry Knowles Hotspurs Premier slip past Nomads, 1-0 | By Larry Knowles Sudaca FC defeats undermanned Spurs | By Larry Knowles DC Albion gets a few early Christmas gifts, wins 4-3 | By Larry Knowles Spurs beat their brethren 5-0 | By Larry Knowles |
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