Avoiding the Drop

Believe it or not, there are quite a few celebrities who claim to have been footballers of some ilk during their younger days.  Some of them are telling the truth, some of them are lying, and some of them, well, things are complicated.  Can you think of any others on this list?  If so, link to them in your comment.  Also, I know that Andrew Shue played at Dartmouth, may have played in Scotland, and probably played in Zimbabwe, but, is he still a celebrity?  “Melrose Place” has been off the air for more than a decade kids- sorry.

Celebrity:  Gordon Ramsay, foul-mouthed chef.

Claim: That he had a trial at Glasgow Rangers as a teenager and played two first team matches for them, and that he played for Oxford United in the FA Youth Cup.

Reality: Oops.  Ramsay may have played for the Warwickshire under-14 team as a youth and he did have an injury-shortened trial at Rangers in the mid-1980s, but all of his other claims were exposed as lies in early 2009.  The whole thing is quite sorted and would be sad if Ramsay wasn’t such an insufferable blowhard.  The full, blow-by-blow debunking can be found here in the reserved and measured prose of the News of the World.

Celebrity:  Rod Stewart, shaggy-haired pop star

Claim: That, prior to becoming “Rod the Mod,” he was an aspiring footballer.

Reality: It’s actually true.  The 16 year old Stewart joined Brentford F.C. (then in the Third Division) as an apprentice in 1961 and stayed with the club through that year’s preseason matches before turning his attention toward music.  Stewart on his decision to leave Brentford, “Well, a musician’s life is a lot easier and I can also get drunk and make music, and I can’t do that and play football.”  Stewart is a life-long supporter of the Scottish National team, so he’s got that going for him- which is nice.

Celebrity:  Sean Connery, actor, bad ass.

Claim: That he once considered becoming a professional footballer rather than an actor.

Reality: That this was ever a “legitimate” option for Connery- or anyone else with similar aspirations- is debatable.  The whole idea goes back at least as far as the preface to a 1965 interview that Connery did with Playboy.  However, then, as now, it is hard to find Connery himself actually making this claim.  It smacks of something “interesting” that a publicist put into Connery’s biography early in his career- whether it was true or not- and that subsequently became “fact.”

Celebrity:  John Stewart, TV host, comedian

Claim: That he was a college soccer player at William & Mary.

Reality: Well,“Jon Stewart” never played Division One soccer, but  “Jonathan Leibowitz” did!  No matter how far he has gone out of his way to downplay his time as a collegiate footballer, it appears that he was, at the very least, a solid player.  At William & Mary Stewart was a four year player (a fullback) and finished his career with 10 goals and 12 assists, including the winning goal (1-0) against UConn in the 1983 ECAC Tournament Championship match.

Celebrity:  Ethan Zohn, reality show champion, philanthropist

Claim: That he played professionally in both the United States and Zimbabwe.

Reality: Zohn, a goalkeeper, played for two different USL sides:  the Hawaii Tsunamis and Cape Cod Crusaders- both USL sides- and Highlanders FC in Zimbabwe.  An interesting side note- Liverpool’s Bruce Grobelaar began his career at Highlanders FC.  Coincidence:  I was at the New England Revolution match where Ethan kicked off a three month, 550 mile fundraising trek to Washington, D.C., dribbling a soccer ball all the way.  By the way, keep Ethan in your thoughts, he was recently diagnosed with a rare form of Hodgkin’s Lymphoma.

Celebrity:  Anthony LePaglia, actor, Australian

Claim: That he played professionally in Australia before becoming an actor.

Reality: It’s true- in the 1980s LaPalia was a goalkeeper in Australia’s National Soccer League (predecessor to the current Hyundai A-League).  LaPaglia played for Adelaide City and West Adelaide.  LaPaglia has continued his involvement in Australian soccer as part-owner of Sydney FC.  In the United States he still occasionally plays for the amateur side Hollywood United and is an investor with the International Goalkeepers Academy.