Observations From Steve Nash's Showdown in Chinatown

Choosing one vignette to sum up the game itself, I would go with World Cup-winning Frenchmen Youri Djorkaeff and Patrick Vieira combining for a masterly, intricate sequence of linkup play, to set up ESPN’s Mark Stein who booted it ten feet over the goal.

Seeing professional soccer players juxtaposed with other elite athletes and normal people really emphasized the extreme amount of brilliance and talent it takes to play professional sports at an elite level. Even in his mid-40s, it was still stunning to see Djorkaeff suddenly snap into soccer mode. Just seeing the speed with which his brain worked up close was incredible.

Giuseppe Rossi was the definite best player on the field. Even just watching him warm up, dick around and try not to exert himself, you could see his effortless ease with the ball. Coming off a 30-plus goal season in Spain, he would have been a game-changer had he opted to play for the U.S. Definitely a bittersweet feeling watching him dominate.

As for the basketball players, Nash has legitimate game. Obviously, he’s a tremendous athlete. He doesn’t have the finely tuned technique of someone who played professionally, but he knew what he was doing in central midfield and could linkup play well. Essentially, he’d be the best guy at any pickup soccer game you would find. Leandro Barbossa was also really impressive. The Brazilian? Shocking, I know.

Gortat provided some entertainment in goal. He looked as though he had played before, though it’s hard to react to things at you’re feet when you’re that tall. He had some mobility and made a few saves, though he spent most of the evening getting abused by Rossi. Besides the obvious height differential, the basketball players shared the natural human inclination to duck and put their hands up to protect their face when a ball came near them.

The game’s highlight was definitely Jared Dudley scoring a goal, ripping off his jersey and running to midfield to swan dive on the turf.

Still don’t understand how Nash summers here in NYC. The concrete traps the heat. The moisture fuses with the ingrained stink. It’s oppressive, like being trapped in a small, windowless room with copulating fat people.

[Photo via Getty]