Vincent Rodriguez
It’s 6:31 am and I wake up. Open up chess.com for my morning game. Lose to a guy from Egypt. Our orange maine coon Huckleberry begs his mothers for cuddles before we get out of bed. She obliges. He takes the role of little spoon as he purrs us into sleeplessness. I have to be at work in two hours. No events today thank goodness. Arsenal plays at 4. Must win or they’re knocked outta champions league. I deleted TikTok cuz I couldn’t open the app without hearing that song about taking the man out of the city and being back in chicago.
It’s 8:20am I’m at a red light. The USS United States welcomes me to South Philly as she does every morning on my drive into work. Her rotting majesty enchants all who pass.
At work there’s meetings, and for the most part it’s a quiet day.
It’s around 4:40pm I’m watching Arsenal at a red light. I’m on Columbus, sandwiched between a red Kia soul in front and a red Kia soul behind, feels like fate that the cars are red. It’s only fate that this is a long red light, it’s only fate that Trossard scores in this moment. I scream so loud and fist pump so hard I’m sure others noticed.
It’s 7pm. The last three hours of my day were entirely absorbed by Arsenal football club. We knocked out Porto to move onto the next round of the champions league. My heart is so full. I love, I love, I love this football club.
For so long I cursed Thierry Henry, for it was he, who I saw that Sunday afternoon prance and dodge his way across the field. He scored a howler against Manchester United that day. I was only 8 years old and I didn’t know what the premier league was. I didn’t know who arsenal was, but I knew this had to be my team. I believe that was his last season with the club and, following that, it has been a roller coaster of emotion with only FA cup championships to curb my appetite for football glory. But now we revisit the quarter finals of the champions league for the first time in well over a decade.
The Emirates repeats a chorus they’ve sung all season. Bellowing at a level that I’m sure even the heavens will hear “WE LOVE SUPER MIK ARTETA…”. Our impassioned Spanish coach whose love for Arsenal equals that of the fans. For five years he was a player at the club and in 2019, he came home as our leader. He came into the top spot at one of the lowest points I’d ever seen Arsenal. He rode with the highs and lows. Now, nearly five years later, he has turned this club into a contender. He’s recaptured the magic that once entranced me all those years ago (there’s been lots of magic since, it’s hasn’t all been bad lol I mean… you know, just not at the same level as it once was).
I could write an overwhelming amount but eventually I’d stop focusing on my day in Philly and you’d instead get my subpar version of Fever Pitch. So I’ll close this portion of my day with some final points.
David Raya is vindicated may god bless him and his family and I’m sorry for all the times I’ve yelled at you when you’ve screwed up this season
Trossard is the fucking President of Belgium as far as I’m concerned
I LOVE SUPER MIK ARTETA
It’s 7:16 my partner will be home soon from school. For dinner tonight I’m gonna make Buuurgerrrrrr pie with roasted garlic mashed potatoes and green beans.
It’s 9:30 Ally, my partner, just got home. Food came out good, I salted the potatoes too much but, whatever, life’s goes on. Gonna get ready for bed soon.
It’s 10:16, bed time. Ally and I talk about our days. We laugh and enjoy ourselves before we do it all over again. I’m reading what I’ve written so far and realizing that my day in Philadelphia wasn’t ultra Philly specific. Could’ve been anyone’s day anywhere. I guess that’s ok though. Slice of life stuff right? That’s what we are going for here? I dunno, thank you for the time nonetheless. I wish you all the best. Goodnight.
Vincent was born and raised in Sacramento, California. He attended the University of Nevada Reno, where he obtained his Bachelors in Political Science with a minor in English. He is the eldest of ten kids and has a deep love for Arsenal FC and the Sacramento Kings. When those teams aren’t playing you can find him reading, cooking, or collecting Pokemon cards. Vincent currently resides in Washington Square West with his partner Ally and their Maine Coon Huckleberry.
