Sometimes you get lucky, sometimes you get really lucky. That's what I see myself as when I remember the first time I ever heard from Todd Smith. He was then the general manager with the Hershey Wildcats and I had only been writing for a-league.com for a few months. I had very few contacts around the League but a lot of loudmouth opinions I felt like sharing. I had some questions about the Wildcats at that time and figured I would get in touch with Todd. I'm lucky he was one of the first front office people I ever had the pleasure to "meet" via my intrepid email misadventures. He could have just as easily told me to go jump in a lake but instead he took the time to answer the questions of which I'm sure some seemed silly to him at the time.
Ironic as it may seem very little of our earliest discussions wound up being put into any of my articles. What the information gleaned from our conversations did do was give this writer a good dose of perspective on what it is that general managers and front office personnel go through for their work at this level. He was the first person among many around the USL who had the time to show someone he didn't know how much passion he had for the game and the vision he had for, at that time, the Hershey Wildcats as well as the game in general. Although our exchanges weren't extremely numerous they were always informative and friendly. Todd always went out of his way to answer the concerns of the fans and treat you much like he'd expect you to treat him.
I remember when Hershey went under and Todd moved on to the New England Revolution. I was extremely happy for him to make that move to MLS and shared that opinion with him at the time. I was also upset about the Wildcats leaving the A-League especially in retrospect seeing all of the hard work that Todd and the others in the Hershey organization had done go for naught. Still, even though he was moving on to another league the lines of communication were left open which showed he wasn't one to forget about those who cared for the game.
It was because of his generosity with his time, patience, thoughts, and feelings that I was able to become comfortable and confident in contacting other front office staff around the League. It also began the learning process that has caused me to respect so many of the people around the USL who do such a wonderful job trying to make this soccer thing work. MLS, the USL, the fans, and soccer in general have lost a wonderful friend. I can't pretend to have been much more than an acquaintance to Todd, either, but even in our ephemeral relationship he proved to be someone quite worthy of respect and I can only hope to be worthy of the same respect he showed me over time. I think the most fitting thing to do, however, is to try to carry on in our own little corners of the world in the same manner that he did with a love and passion for those things we hold dear.
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