. . .It was a cool, rainy Tuesday afternoon in late April (the 24th, 2018) in the Plaza-Midwood area of Charlotte (NC, USA). I mounted a padded, armless stool at 2:40 EDT before a large rectangular oak table occupied by seven football/soccer fans at Jackalope Jack’s (now at the corner of Commonwealth Avenue and Pecan Avenue). The Champions League pre-match (the first semifinal) show was on the large flat-screen TV over the bar. I said hello to a few middle-aged Reds fans. Liverpool FC would be playing AS Roma at Anfield (the first leg) in just five minutes. “Now, would you happen to have a scoreline prediction, most clairvoyant one?” I asked Bradford, my jovial, 50-something, Caucasian, white-LFC-jersey-donning pal from New Jersey.. . . Read More