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+---- Thread: Hey, Jude #4: Sun Rises on Greer's Tokyo Tenure (/showthread.php?tid=4442)
- Metafiction - 2023-10-09
TOKYO, Japan -- A large contingent of the soccer press converged on Rome’s Leonardo da Vinci–Fiumicino Airport Monday as Jay Cue, the number 1 overall pick in last weekend’s Simulation Soccer League draft, arrived to link up with AC Romana for preseason workouts.
At the same time, over six thousand miles away in Tokyo, a much smaller contingent had set up camp at the baggage claim at Narita International Airport in the hopes of catching the first images of fellow draftee Jude Greer.
Greer, who had returned home to Nashville to watch the draft livestream with his family, was running behind schedule--a thunderstorm and excessive heat had kept his plane grounded at Nashville International Airport for two hours longer than planned--but at last, well after the journalists and photographers at the gate had expected, his small charter jet landed on the runway and taxied to the gate.
For a young man whose entrance into the SSL world has been anything but ordinary, Greer’s arrival certainly didn’t disappoint in terms of sheer spectacle. When he finally emerged into the claims area, near the tail end of a long gaggle of professionals, vacationers and families with small children, all attention immediately snapped to his attire. The large brown stetson on the head of the diminutive left back made for an odd sight when combined with his bright, unbuttoned, lime-green Hawaiian shirt and aviator sunglasses. Visible through the opening in the shirt was what appeared to be a graphic tee depicting an illustration of a tiger in profile, with the word “Sewanee” printed in large block letters underneath. Behind him rolled a well-worn black travel bag, slightly dented and generally the worse for wear.
“Ko-neechee-wah, y’all,” Greer shouted to the assembled press, grinning from ear to ear as the sound of camera shutters and annoyed whispers from passers-by echoed throughout the baggage area.
An outsider would have assumed he was just a random loudmouth American on vacation. But Greer, eyes bloodshot and walking with the noticeable stiffness that can only come from flying economy-class, made it very clear he intends to spend his time at the Nintendome doing anything but relaxing.
“I’m here to play,” Greer said. “I want to hit up the training center right away. Gotta hit the ground running.”
Greer had arrived to participate in the Tokyo SC/Cairo City organization’s preseason workouts, where he will have the chance to practice with members of Tokyo’s first team and receive direct mentoring and and supervision from Tokyo’s coaches and veteran players, including the likes of Yannick Visser, Linnea Nesse and Squall Vercetti.
“Any time you get the chance to learn from people who’ve been there before, you gotta take it,” Greer said, fiddling with his hat. “They’ve got way more experience than I do in the pro game, so I wanna try to listen close and take in as much as I can.”
With the SSL’s realignment for the upcoming season, Greer will likely spend the bulk of his early time in the league following training camp with Cairo City, Tokyo SC’s new minor league affiliate, where he and fellow draftee David Wiggins will have ample amounts of game time to make their cases for a promotion to the major league side.
“I can’t wait to get started,” Greer said as the baggage claim whirred into life. “I know it’s a long road to the top, but I’m gonna give it everything I got. Wherever I end up--Tokyo, Cairo, El Paso, whatever-o--I’ve just gotta put in the work, and hopefully it’ll be enough.”
Greer leaned over the baggage conveyor belts, appearing to try to peer beyond the curtains into the unloading area.
“Hey, if any of y’all see a big black suitcase, shout it out, will ya?” he asked the gathered journalists. “It’s got my name on it, but you never know with--oh, there it is.”
Indeed, just as he spoke, the bag had scooted out on the conveyor toward the young left back. Greer politely nudged by a couple of his fellow passengers and seized his luggage--a large black bag that looked to be almost as tall as Greer himself. Having lifted the bag from the belt with a loud grunt, Greer paused to take a deep breath, finally taking in his new surroundings for the first time.
After a moment, he asked to the press: “Can one of y'all tell me how to get to the training center from here?”
A friendly member of the press corps gave him a broad overview of the route.
“Thanks,” Greer replied, grinning widely as he tipped his stetson. “My phone died on the plane, so I can’t ask Siri. Man, I was bored outta my skull up there. The plane had a screen on the back of the seats, but I wasn’t gonna watch that garbage--all they showed were Adam Sandler movies.” This got a laugh from the assembled reporters as he continued. “But yeah, the team said they’d send a car, but that won’t do me no good if I don’t know where to drive, so.”
With that, Greer tipped his hat again and turned to walk away. As Greer strode off toward customs, a sharp-eared observer could hear him muse to himself: “I sure hope it’s an auto. I never did learn to drive stick.”
(884 words)