The Pickup Game

Conversations with Kinan Azmeh, Tom Crawford, Charles Donaldson, and John Schaefer.

Transcript:

I’ve learned about  the true depth of this game which is the people who play it. And in this podcast, I would like to introduce them

and introduce their stories. 

If you want me to describe pure moments of happiness and satisfaction, it can be yes, playing Carnegie Hall and scoring a nicely collectively built goal.There's room to be a team player, and there's room to be a solo artist. And I think in soccer you have that too. 

There are a lot of people from a lot of backgrounds in that game

that I wouldn't necessarily meet outside of that setting. 

When I was younger, you worried about the cops. Now, I got to worry about someone saying, you know what? I'm going to peel away layers of your background to see if I can revoke your citizenship

and kick you out of the country. 

First season of The Pickup Game ends with this show. What's your plan going forward? To concentrate The Pickup Game on these little communities and hopefully connect them all.

During my travels to different parts of the world, I sought out games. I played with orphans, gangsters, military personnel, cops, NGO workers, artists, lawyers, politicians—you name it, they were all on the pitch. The games took place in conflict zones, rural areas, on beaches, cement courts, wooden floors, or in parks. Each person and place had its own unique flavor. Every game was different, yet approached in the same way. You were no one until you made your first connection with another player.

On a February Sunday morning in Chisinau, I was told to take a minivan to the outskirts of the city. We drove through the cold winter desolation until the last stop. I got off, and there wasn’t a soul around as I looked at the makeshift directions to get to the field. I walked through broken courtyards and arrived at a cracked cement pitch with netless goals. It didn’t feel right until I saw the players arriving. They were an amazing cast of characters I had the privilege to play with.

It’s not every day that I get interviewed by New York Public Radio’s John Schaefer at WNYC. At the beginning of the year, I started a podcast about the pickup game in New York City. Through a series of interviews, it became a portrait of the city. Our diverse players transcend societal divisions and politics, discussing everything we loved and feared in a shared environment. In this interview, I talk about my origins, my work, my discovery of art in the game, and looking to the future of bridging communities.

In the penultimate episode of Season 1 of The Pickup Game, I am joined by Rob Blackman and Juan Sanguinetti. The World Cup has been divisive for some, polarizing for others, and enthralling for many. It has brought countless people from diverse backgrounds together to celebrate our differences, something those of us in New York experience daily.

In episode 22 of The Pickup Game, Joe Cogan of Parkit Management talks to me about the Goals for Good competition, the World Cup fever engulfing the U.S., and rewarding simple actions for the people who need it most.

In Episode 21 of The Pickup Game, I sit down with David Briggs, an architect, a painter, and a player aiming to still be on the pitch at 70. David takes us through his love of radio, the spaces between buildings, Milan Kundera, the power of religion and Caravaggio's use of prostitutes as models for his figures.

In Episode 20 of The Pickup Game, I chat with Johnny Gandelsman, a violinist, producer, MacArthur Fellow, and founding member of Brooklyn Rider. Our conversation ranges from the World Cup and Marjane Satrapi's views on two countries at war, to the love of New York and lifting people up in times of need.

In Episode 19 of The Pickup Game, I chat with Mark O'Brien, a pickup game player for the past 62 years. We talk about Bob Marley's pickup game at Battersea Park, the politics surrounding the World Cup, and his recommended summer read, Home and Away by Karl Ove Knausgård @karl.ove.knausgard and Fredrik Ekelund, a captivating book told through email exchanges about the beautiful game. Mark also co-founded Scale Justice, a digital tool aimed at making legal power more accessible.

In Episode 18 of The Pickup Game, I visit Digital Island Studios near the Flatiron, where I speak with its owner, Bill Siegmund. Bill, a Hawaii native, talks about recording live music, falling in love with Chelsea Football Club through Punch magazine, the pageantry of the World Cup, and the growing fear of traveling to the US.