Despite heavy rains that caused problems at the Jersey Shore and elsewhere, the wedding came off without a problem (and with no yellow cards) on March 13 at the Church of the Messiah in Gwynedd, PA. Debbie and I met in this church close to 50 years ago and have been friends ever since and now we are husband and wife.
Although Debbie rejected my suggestion that she dribble a ball down the aisle, there was a soccer influence at the wedding. In the bridal party alone we had six current or former players including me; my brother, Gary, a teacher and Episcopal priest who married us; my daughter, Kirsten and her husband, Chris Chesla, who both played in high school and now play for FC Hansa in Minneapolis; my son, Scott; and Debbie's grandson, Zachary Werner, the ringbearer, who plays on a 5-year old team near West Chester.
I was also happy to have representatives from all three Medford Strikers teams I have coached and from Haddonfield H.S. From the '78-'79 team were parents Mark and Angela Adlen. Coach Jerry Ciser was in Florida and could not make it. From the great '81-'82 team was Coach Joe Dadura ("Mr. D") and his wife Bobbie. And the Medford Strikers Xtreme were represented by GM John Makowski and his wife, Sandy; Coach Mike Grimes and his wife Linda, both former players; and parents Bettie and George Sierra.
We had quite a team at one of the tables with Scott, who played for the Strikers U14 1994 state champions; Kirsten and Chris; and my good friend, Lauren Konopka, a great player for the Strikers, Holy Cross H.S. and Wheaton College, Mass. (Class of '08).
Coaches Steve Barbagiovanni and George Rhea from the Xtreme could not make it, but not surprisingly the best line of the day came from George. (This is the guy who gave me the saying, "Free is me," among others.) George texted me congratulations on the morning of the wedding and I texted back thanking him. To which he replied, "Remember 'I do.'" Thanks, George. And I did.
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