A Loyal Lockdown Lowdown

 On Fair Weather Podcast, we chatted with San Diego Loyal teammates Jack Metcalf, Grant Stoneman, Tumi Moshobane, Elijah Martin, and Chairman Andrew Vassiliadis. We asked what they are doing during the lockdown. Some shared what they missed.

Jack Metcalf

Jack told us, “We’ve been given individual workouts or go for a run and been keeping up on those. I’ve been on Netflix and had a go on Football Manager now and again, just to pass the time.” This opened up a whole line of questions and he was nice enough to answer. For starters, using an obscure team in League One or League Two is how he usually plays, but he added, “sometimes I even pick an MLS team. The most recent I was trying to get Tranmere Rovers promoted, but I wasn’t too successful in that, so I think I just quit.”

Lastly, we asked how often he buys himself and he gave us this nugget. “I would be lying if I said I haven’t done that. Most players who are on there would probably do the same,” Jack said. We asked him if he feels bad having to sell himself on. “I always give myself the best contract, of course, as much as the club will allow,” he added.  Jack is open to suggestions for new hobbies, so hit him up on Twitter

Grant Stoneman

Grant had some similar things to say regarding staying fit. He used to go to the park to do workouts, but now, he just runs around his neighborhood. He said the team has been really helpful with ideas to keep in shape.

When asked about non-soccer hobbies, he said that he was trying to figure that all out. “I’m trying to learn Spanish,” he told us. “Cause, obviously, we have a lot of Spanish speaking players on the team. Me and Yair (Jaen) have gotten a little close, so that’s been nice and we’ve been teaching each other the language so that’s been good.” We went on to suggest that maybe he should start teaching some Spanish lessons. He can post on social media, and others can learn along with him. Marisa Cali on the podcast suggested that he could call it “Spanish with Stoneman”. Maybe, you’ll see that before too long.

The new Call of Duty and FIFA were big on his list of video games. Shoot him a tweet and maybe he’ll give you a game.

Tumi Moshobane

Grant wanted us to pass along a message to Tumi. Grant said Tumi needed to eat more. Apparently, Tumi can eat whatever he wants and he doesn’t “grow”. We are all currently jealous of him cause all of these quarantine snacks are plumping me up. Tumi says that the first thing he is going to do that isn’t soccer-related is to go lay in the sun on the beach. Skype calls to his friends to discuss books and long phone calls home have been helpful.

Elijah Martin

Elijah plays a lot of FIFA. He said he uses a bunch of different teams. If he was pressed as to what team he would use, he’d choose Manchester City. He did say he wasn’t a die-hard City fan because he likes a good underdog story. Elijah told us, “I just enjoy good football. I love seeing an underdog win. It’s crazy, but I am a big fan of Leicester.” He went on to say, “Before my time is up on this earth, Leicester will win another Premier League”.

Elijah also said that being home more means he is cooking a lot more. He did say that he plays it safe when he cooks with chicken, rice, and broccoli. His girlfriend really helps him out and “opens up his creative mind”. We went on to talk about how he should start doing a cooking show “Martin Makes Meals”. Hopefully, he does so we can cook along with him.

Andrew Vassiliadis

Andrew is the Chairman of San Diego Loyal Soccer club. He told us that he does silly things with his wife. One of them was to “pretend like we still have date nights”. He said, they “cook dinner, run upstairs, get dressed up all fancy, come down and have dinner together.” DJing is another big interest for him, so you might see a mix coming out soon. 

You might know Andrew from his involvement in the eUSL tournaments. He didn’t want to dwell on his playing. He instead focused on the charitable aspect of the matches. If you have a favorite team, check out who they are playing for and, if you can, make a donation.

Andrew also pointed out that a lot of the players are far from home and their normal support systems. He encouraged fans to reach out to the players and say hello. We all need to check in on our soccer family and you can reach out to Andrew on Twitter, too. 

 

Check out the full-length interviews and other SD Loyal news on the Fair Weather Podcast.

Alan Underwood

Alan lives in San Diego with his wife and their dogs. You might hear one on a podcast from time to time. He covers Orange County Soccer Club for BGN's Orange and Black SoccerCast and started Fair Weather Podcast to cover San Diego Loyal Soccer Club.