“Let my men score a goal”

Can you have three different personalities for every moment of the day? If possible. Because of the multiple and abundant activities of Stephen Mason as Soccer Moses cheering on a team MLSthe first football division of USAas the singer of an alternative Christian folk rock group Clay jars and as a hairdresser who runs a barbershop called ‘The Handsomizer’ ten minutes’ walk from the stadium Nashville SC.

To go crazy (or be).

The holy word is your riff

Stephen Mason (7/8/1975) is a big sports fan. native of Illinoisis a follower of chicago bears of nfl and now of titans of Nashville for labor issues. Five years ago the football club was founded Nashville SC and entered as a franchisee MLS in 2020. The first game they played in Geodis Park, Mason He appeared dressed like Moses in his tunic and his long beard holding a sign that said: “Let my people aim” (“Let my people score a goal”) in clear reference to request, according to BibleWhat is Moses Way to bring the Hebrews back Israel (Let my people go – Let my people go). Such a sensation caused the entire country to become a regular at home and away games.

With franchises created from scratch without a tradition rooted in the city, the clubs tried to build a representative figure of animation: in Portland they have a woodcutter who cuts logs for every local purpose; in Los Angeles FC a hawk flies over the stadium before the game; in Atlantahe MVP of the meeting drives a railway nail or the Texan duel of Dallas and Houstonthere is a cannon replica Howitzer from the 18th century whoever wins keeps it (and can shoot it). In Nashville they found it Soccer Moses which plays a riff on a gibson before the games start.

The disclosure

In 1997, Clay jars I travel to London to record his second album, ‘Much Afraid’. Turns out the sound engineer is a big fan of Arsenal and he also has some tickets for a game Highbury. Mason narrates that “There was a ray of light in the middle part and we were on the terrace of the Highbury, which is made of wood, and we had a lively feeling. I just fell in love with that sport. This is the pain that wakes me up at 5:30 in the morning to see a Swansea-Sheffield United”.

More than 20 years ago, a friend invited him to watch a game of Nashville FC when I was in USLthe state’s second division, and he likes the ‘City of Music’ atmosphere devoted to that minority sport of soccer.

The beginning

That’s when his passion started to grow. After 20 years as the band’s lead guitarist Clay jars (the group’s name is a biblical reference to the second letter to the Corinthians) won three awards grammy in the ‘Best Pop Gospel Album’ category, Mason decided to face a new challenge. In 2014 he obtained the title of master barber and, installed in Nashvilledecided to open a small hairdresser-barbershop.

He cut his hair stephen robinsonpresident of the animation group The Roadies of Nashville SC, that the idea of ​​dressing like Moses arose. Robinson told him the story of a friend of his who, seeing how good the player was Nigeria Victor Moses scored in the World Cup shouted “Let my people score a goal” (because of the surname Moses). SA Mason it made him laugh and that was the beginning of the character he created.

Love your neighbor as yourself

But it’s not just limited to cheering on the home team. Two days after the first game of Nashville SC in MLS, a tornado struck east of the city. The team traveled to Portland to play against Logs. Mason decided to go to Northwest to cheer on the team and had an epiphany: he was going to use his budding fame to raise money for those affected. The loudest fans of LogsThe Wooden army he was told: they set up a table with posters announcing a fundraiser to help and that the club’s board would donate $15 per ticket sold.

Soccer Moses is the club’s ambassador to Providence Park fraternizing with the woodcutter of Logs and master of trunk ceremonies, Timber Joey. Throughout the game he was shouting and cheering his ‘Let my people goal’. Nashville lost 1-0. The Lord does not always hear prayers.

The exodus ends: the league begins

The new season has started MLS28th, and Nashville opened the new course on Saturday playing at home against New York City. Soccer Moses He didn’t miss it: he took pictures with the fans, played his riff and asked for ‘Let my people goal’ again. This time, the Floating he wore the dark blue and yellow scarf and the black t-shirt in honor of Johnny Cash and Nashville won 2-0.