Fred and I had a lot in common. We both loved chess, stamp collecting and soccer. Though we rarely discussed chess or stamp collecting. A couple of times he talked about Bobby Fisher. Occassionally he would tell me about the latest stamps that he had received or a new country that he was collecting. But, always soccer was the main topic. Fred even became part of a fantasy premium league that I was in and he had a great fantasy team. He would discuss strategy with me on a weekly basis. I remember the first time he came over to my house to watch an english premium league match on Setanta. He had a stamp club meeting that day but dropped it so he could watch the match with me. I'd like to think that he did that for me but I think he did it just to watch the match (but I was still flattered anyway). I would probably do the same thing. Anyway, that day 2 of my sons, Chris and Blake, were here to watch the match with us. We were all very quiet while the match was being played except for the commentary provided by Fred. It was interesting listening to him tell us his analogy of what prevented that scoring opportunity or what a player was thinking when he got the red card. We always laughed a lot especially when he was trying to be so serious! We all enjoyed the times that we were able to get together and share our common bond. As the play offs were going on for promotion to the premier league, Fred would always call me to let me know how Burnley was doing. I honestly had never even heard of Burnley but I was too embarassed to tell him. Well, his excitement got me going and we had a lot of fun watching Burnley win and win and win. Well, you know the rest. Then they came to Ventura (of all places) and Fred was beyond control (we all were!). He insisted on buying all of us tickets. He was thrilled when he was invited to meet the team, coaches and administrators at the hotel where they were staying. Tell you the truth so was I. He always kept me posted on everything that was happening with Burnley every day while they were in CA and OR. Of course, the best part was when we all met at Buena Vista High School in Ventura and watched the match. It was freezing cold that night even though it was in the middle of summer. I remember someone brought blankets and Christine and Dolly (my wife) were all bundled up in them. It was great and Fred was very happy when Burnley won 5-0. Even though I only knew Fred a short time I truly enjoyed and treasured his friendship. I have fond memories of the times he shared with me.