- May 18, 2024
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It was 1 a.m. Friday. I was sitting on my couch, watching SportsCenter. Over and over, as I so often do. It was getting late, but I couldn’t sleep. Call me what you will, but I was itching to join the madness and buy a new iPhone 4S the next morning.
I rolled out of bed at 7:17 a.m. My hair was a wild mess, but off I went to the AT&T store, in Palm Coast.
I knew I wanted to get in line by about 7:30 — the store was opening an hour early, at 8 a.m., for the phone’s launch.
It was nice outside, and the employees at AT&T were super friendly and had donuts and coffee and water. But all I wanted was a new phone.
After I finally got inside to get the phone, around 8:30, I noticed a familiar face across the counter from me. Eddie Johnson was in the house. That’s right, Eddie, the former Flagler Palm Coast High School soccer player who went on to play in Major League Soccer and on the U.S. Men’s National Team in the 2006 World Cup.
I used to play pickup games with Eddie whenever he was in town. And when I say he is fast, that’s an understatement.
Anyway, we got to talking, and he told me he was weighing various options to get back to playing.
After playing for the Kansas City Wizards, Johnson signed a contract with Fulham, of the English Premier League. But shortly after, he was put on loan to various clubs, including other English clubs and then teams in Greece.
Earlier this year, Johnson said he wanted to return to the United States, and decided to go through MLS’ allocation process — a way for the league to place him on a team through various steps.
But negotiations stalled, Johnson told me, and he might be headed back to Europe.
Though Johnson has been several places the past few years, he’s still only 27 years old, so keep your eye out for him.
In the meantime, I’ll keep scoring goals with him in FIFA ’12, on my new iPhone 4S.
