Thanks, Mooch

Too often this space has been dedicated to some dead sports star or rocker that made a small impact on my life. But today I feel the need to bring your attention to the death of a good friend who has passed away.

Glenn Myernick, who was a coach of the Colorado Rapids and an assistant with the US National Team, died on Monday after suffering a heart attack on Thursday. He was 51.

Mooch, as he was known, was one of the best people I ever met in the soccer world. He was the first person to call me after I was let go from the USSF, and kept in regular contact with me right through my days with ChampionsWorld. He was a great soccer person, and an even better friend who helped guide me through the weird and wild world of US Soccer. And, he was a Jersey guy.

Mooch possessed a win-at-all-costs mentality and managed to balance it with a delicate sense of team unity and compassion, a combination that is sorely lacking in American soccer today. He should have been the next manager of the US squad, and he will be missed.

One of the greatest things I ever heard anybody ever say was regularly uttered by Mooch when we would get to some new city for a game. "We're not here for a long time, we're here for a good time," he would say. Those words do a good job of summing up his life. So long, Mooch. And thanks for all you taught me.