Every now and then, a player comes along who just wows the fans. Not with skill, not with his or her performance on the playing surface, not even with looks ‘-‘- OK, sometimes with looks ‘-‘- especially in this particular case.
These athletes wow fans with their uncanny ability to become a fan favorite. Fans cling to these players and adore every single thing they do ‘-‘- good or bad. Fans will defend their favorite player until he or she graduates.
I think you know I’m talking about Jon Jonsson ‘-‘- one of the biggest fan favorites at BU this year. Yes, Jin Oh’s fanbase did rival Jon’s at games, but look beyond Nickerson Field and you’ll see that we’re all just peons compared to Jon.
For my final column of the semester, I requested to interview Jon to penetrate his mind’ to see what he thinks of BU, society and his superstardom. Of course, being a fan favorite, he obliged and allowed me to step into his presence for the best hour of my life.
Honestly, I wish everyone could experience what I got to experience. Jon is one of those people who makes you feel better just by being around him. He’s the Michael Jordan of good feelings. When I asked Jon to describe himself in one word, he chose ‘happy.’ I had to question why whenever I see him he is always so goddamn happy. Jon’s response was more of a life lesson than anything else:
‘I’ve been lucky in life,’ he said. ‘Not too many bad things have happened to me and I’ve learned to appreciate it. Just take each day and be thankful. Of course there’s times where there’s some things wrong, but then I just go with it ‘-‘- being happy just motivates you more to get through anything.’
Jon’s life motivation transcended onto the pitch, especially this season. He said the only times he would lose his temper was when he saw his teammates not putting in the effort.
‘I get so mad because you should be putting everything into it. It’s a sport you love and you’ll never know when you won’t be able to play anymore,’ he said. ‘I’ve never been the most technical player, but I always put 100 percent in.’
It’s been an uphill battle for Jon this season. During the summer, he plays for a professional club team in his homeland of Iceland and he’s been starting there for a while. When Jon arrived in Boston for preseason this year, he was told he wouldn’t be starting like he had the last two years. He described this as the biggest disappointment of his season.
‘At first I was mad,’ Jonsson said.
That anger didn’t last long ‘-‘- Jon embraced his role coming off the bench, as did Oh. Jon said neither wanted to waste his senior year on the bench. So, they assumed roles that fit them and the team perfectly, as their fresh legs halfway through each half gave the team a spark when it needed it most.
His playing style is similar to the way he is off the field ‘-‘- energetic and dynamic. This definitely carries over to his other passion: music. When I walked into Jon’s apartment, he had a guitar in his hands, strumming beautiful melodies as we prepared for the interview. Jon has been playing guitar since he was eight years old. When he goes home during breaks, he records new songs that he writes with his hometown best friend.
Now that he won’t be practicing and playing soccer every day, he’ll have plenty of time for his music, which he is more than willing to share with anyone. In fact, Jon’s first concert of the year is happening tomorrow at BU Central at 8 p.m. From what I understand, his music has been known to cure cancer.
In our conversation, we talked a little bit about the fans. Jon acknowledged the students who showed up. He said, ‘when fans are there and shouting, it’s so motivating. It feels so good, you want to perform well for a crowd like that.’
Jon’s final words of wisdom to me ‘-‘- don’t mess with Shaun Taylor. He will mess you up. I needed clarification, so I asked who would win in various steel-cage matchups. According to Jon, Shaun would win any match against any of his teammates, coach Neil Roberts and even Dean Elmore. He did say the only close match would be Shaun ‘The Brute’ Taylor versus Dan Schultz.
I wish I could write more about Jon. Like how he calls his bike a girly-boy bike, or how he roots for Liverpool, or how his least favorite word is ‘envy.’ He’s become one of my favorite athletes in any sport.
He deserves success on every level, and I have no doubt he will achieve it. Jon, thank you for being you. When you graduate you will be missed, on the field and off. I won’t forget this year in BU soccer and I’ll live by words you told me: ‘Be happy and love what you do.’
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