Several weeks ago my husband and I went to watch his younger brother's soccer game. At one point my husband told me that one of the coaches reminded him of Captain Ahab. I looked up to see what he was talking about.
Across the field was a tall, sturdy guy with a mid-length, thick white beard and a beanie cap. The most striking similarity, though, was his voice. Imagine the best gruff, pirate-esque, whaling vessel captain imitation you've ever heard. That was his voice. Before the kick, when it was the opposite team's turn to kick: "Get the ball, red team!" As the kids were running after the ball: "GET THE BAAALLL! [argh, mateys!]" I can't really remember anything else he said, but with the looks and voice paired with the umbrella he held beside him that called to mind either a cane or a peg leg, I could totally see the resemblance.
"He must have retired from whaling and decided to do this instead," I joked.
"Argh, mateys, when I was at sea, we played soccer on the deck! And when the ball was kicked out of bounds, ye had to walk the plank to get it!" my husband whispered in a pretty good imitation of the Captain. "There was no throwing it in, you had to swim it in!"
I laughed. He went on throughout the rest of the game. "Ol' Johnny had a peg leg, so he had to be the goalie. We gouged out a little hole for his peg so he could stay in one spot and pivot to block the ball, argh! And when he'd get to whirling, there was no way to get the ball through, argh!"
We went to another game the next week and he actually said "Argh" when he was calling out to a player who had missed the ball.
