Thread by @EnswellJones

It’s been nearly a year since I told my first story here. “Pete Simon Saves the Day” was about kindness—about how one person doing a small, nice thing can change the trajectory of someone else’s day, year, and even life. Today I want to tell a story like that one.

https://twitter.com/EnswellJones/status/1247916123682725888

I might get in trouble for this, but I don’t care. @brendanhannan recently left the LA Galaxy football club. He was the media guy there. He was awesome at his job. The relationship between journalist and publicist can be fraught, but he navigated that role with grace.

Here’s all I need to tell you about Brendan: Long before he worked for the Galaxy, he worked for Make-a-Wish as a “Wish Event Coordinator.” Do you know what that means? He made last wishes come true for gravely ill children. Now you know exactly the kind of guy he is.

(He’s also the guy who helped make this absolute hilarity happen.)

Back in 2015, I got assigned a profile of Steven Gerrard, the Liverpool legend who now found himself in LA. Brendan helped set it up. Great. There was only one hair in the soup: My younger son, Sammy, was (and is) a giant fan of Steven Gerrard. He was seven years old.

A writer can’t ask an athlete for anything, of course. No autographs, no selfies. You have to be a professional. It’s not a debate. BUT: Try explaining to a big-eyed seven-year-old that you’re going to meet his hero, and you can’t bring him anything home. Heartbreaking.

I went to LA and sat in the stands with Gerrard, watching a Galaxy game. I asked him to tell me what he saw. People who know something—who really understand something, in their blood—see it on a different level than you do. They go to some different place.

Gerrard narrated the game for me from his perspective, and as much as I thought I knew about football, I realized I knew nothing. He was dissecting players he’d never seen before. He was telling me what would happen before it happened. It was magical.

At some point, Gerrard asked me what EPL team I support. Interviewing is a strange art. I didn’t want to lie, so I said Burnley, but not to worry—my son, Sammy, was Liverpool. Just a bit of banter to keep him relaxed. And away we went, watching the game at different levels.

I came home and wrote the story, which ran in ESPN The Mag (RIP). I apologized to Sammy 1,000 times. He tried to understand but couldn’t. I’ve never felt so torn between my job and my son, and my job won. Not a great feeling. But sometimes we just do what we have to do.

Then one day a package arrived. It was a page from the story—signed to Sammy, from Gerrard. Brendan had overheard our conversation and quietly helped grant another wish. Oh my God, Sammy’s face. It still hangs by his bed: Every night he gets “Best wishes” from his hero.

Someone will be holy and say I should’ve burned it upon arrival. I get that, but I couldn’t. Brendan’s act was one of kindness, not compromise, and it meant the world to my sweet boy. Brendan, I hope your many favours are soon returned. Best wishes, from Sammy and me.

And best wishes to you, my friends: Today’s story will be the last one for a while. I mean, I’ll still tell stories. It’s the place I go. But it’s the right time for me to take a break. This year has been hard. This year has also been amazing, because of this, and all of you.

I hope I made you smile. I can’t explain what you’ve given me. (Okay, a hint: Stay tuned?) So here’s to Pete Simon. Here’s to Brendan Hannan. And here’s to all of you. Thank you for doing more small, nice things for me than I can count. You’ve changed the trajectory of my life.