Thursday, September 25, 2008

Licensed Dealer

As we were leaving for training today, Ptah Myers was flagged down by an onlooker outside of our hotel. Turns out, the bystander was a salesman and he wanted to show us what he had on offer: license plates.
According to Denison Cabral, who was doing the translating, one custom named U.S. Futsal National Team license plate can be yours for just 40 Brazilian. Apparently receiving random trinkets outside of your hotel is a very South American thing. For those of you loyal blog readers, you may remember the MNT encountering a botled ship maker during last years Copa America. Anyhow, the license plate dealer has given the guys some time to make their decisions - and chances are that asking price isn't final either... (From left to right in the picture -Team Doctor Nicholas Romansky, Cabral, and Myers)

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Thanks to all for giving such great first hand accounts of the US Team World Cup Futsal trip and experiences! We were struck by the seemingly random presentation of a license plate to Ptah Myers with his name on it. According to your report it was about the sale of trinkets to the team by South Americans outside your hotel. In talking with our Brazilian friends, entrepenuership may have been a part of what was going on, but likely a larger part was a tribute to Ptah Myers whose name was selected by the futsal fan and license plate dealer. We tried to learn more about Myers from an interview about the members of the US Futsal team, but discovered little. Doing our own homework we found out that he was instrumental in the Philadelphia Kixx winning the MISL National Championship year before last, and was voted Player of the Year by Kixx fans this year. Prior to his three years in MISL, Myers played outdoor with the Virginia Mariners aftet graduating from U. Mass, where he was an outstanding player and team leader. Please continue to keep us posted on this soccer/futsal standout!