Great piece. Your last line really nails how sad this all is. We’ve seen how kind Grant was to fellow journalists over the past few days. He was also very kind to fans. I was always pleasantly surprised when he responded to question or comment I had. Such a loss.
I found you because of Grant. You were on his podcast and I thought; hell yeah I should support this dude; he sounds amazing and who doesn't want to know more about Barbados, Antigua and Guadalupe too. I think you are a beautiful writer and you did Grant proud today. I'm a founding member of Grant's Newsletter; I was on the Zoom call he had for us last Thursday afternoon here in the CST. I actually mentioned you to him. We were discussing the Mexico troubles post World Cup and I had found what you had to say in you writings last week very interesting. It was great because I could not remember your name; only "Getting CONCACAFED". Of course Great immediately said, your are talking about Jon Arnold and he is a great writer. It seems weird for a 44 year old man to say this about someone he did't know, but I did love Grant Wahl. Because of the character he showed, his writing, and his genuine love for sharing what he loved. Oh I wish we all had a little more Grant Wahl in our lives still to come, one more "My Three Thoughts or some cool story about some kid just coming into his own from some far off place, but we will have to make do with what he were given in the time he had here. I will continue to read you Jon; because Grant brought you on a podcast and showed me that you were awesome too. Have a great day annd always keep reaching for the standard that Grant Wahl set for being a friend, a writer, and a lover of the beautiful game.
Thanks for sharing this, Jonathan. I know it's a strange feeling for his readers, but I don't think there's anything wrong with saying you loved him. Of course you'll feel that absence. Glad we'll still have this space together to share stories thanks to Grant linking us.
Thank you. Love your work and your focus. Pick up the mantel. Not the whole thing, at least not right away. But, pick up your piece and do the work. Like Grant would, in your shoes.
I love the way you eulogized Grant in your piece. He really had an ability to tell us the story and still find a few more random things that were almost as interesting as the article itself.
I'm catching up with all of your pieces from the end of the year and this one was a wonderful read despite the subject matter. I was welling up every so often reading tributes the day after that game where he passed. I guess there's still more welling up to do even now. It's obvious what he's done for soccer going through the countless tributes from other journalists. Thanks, Jon, and thank you, Grant.
Thanks for writing that. I obviously only know both of you through your writing but Grant’s voice is still in my head. I only learned of his passing because I was annoyed he didn’t put out anything after that game because I was already semi-disagreeing with what I thought he would say. And then I learned what happened. It’s just so terrible. Unthinkable. All thoughts with his wife and family and also for all of you who cared for him and were inspired by him.
Some of the best tributes to Grant have been the amazing writing and podcasts devoted to his memory. Thank you for this.
Great piece. Your last line really nails how sad this all is. We’ve seen how kind Grant was to fellow journalists over the past few days. He was also very kind to fans. I was always pleasantly surprised when he responded to question or comment I had. Such a loss.
Jon,
I found you because of Grant. You were on his podcast and I thought; hell yeah I should support this dude; he sounds amazing and who doesn't want to know more about Barbados, Antigua and Guadalupe too. I think you are a beautiful writer and you did Grant proud today. I'm a founding member of Grant's Newsletter; I was on the Zoom call he had for us last Thursday afternoon here in the CST. I actually mentioned you to him. We were discussing the Mexico troubles post World Cup and I had found what you had to say in you writings last week very interesting. It was great because I could not remember your name; only "Getting CONCACAFED". Of course Great immediately said, your are talking about Jon Arnold and he is a great writer. It seems weird for a 44 year old man to say this about someone he did't know, but I did love Grant Wahl. Because of the character he showed, his writing, and his genuine love for sharing what he loved. Oh I wish we all had a little more Grant Wahl in our lives still to come, one more "My Three Thoughts or some cool story about some kid just coming into his own from some far off place, but we will have to make do with what he were given in the time he had here. I will continue to read you Jon; because Grant brought you on a podcast and showed me that you were awesome too. Have a great day annd always keep reaching for the standard that Grant Wahl set for being a friend, a writer, and a lover of the beautiful game.
Godspeed,
Jonathan Menefee
Thanks for sharing this, Jonathan. I know it's a strange feeling for his readers, but I don't think there's anything wrong with saying you loved him. Of course you'll feel that absence. Glad we'll still have this space together to share stories thanks to Grant linking us.
Thank you. Love your work and your focus. Pick up the mantel. Not the whole thing, at least not right away. But, pick up your piece and do the work. Like Grant would, in your shoes.
I'll do my best, Tim. Thanks for reading.
I decided to slide you $100 in an envelope. Looking forward to consuming more of your writing.
Great tribute. Fantastic.
A touching tribute to a wonderful man. Heartbroken over the loss.
I love the way you eulogized Grant in your piece. He really had an ability to tell us the story and still find a few more random things that were almost as interesting as the article itself.
Wonderful tribute Jon, thanks for all that you do!
Sad and ureal like a bad dream . Thanks for share.
Beautiful tribute. Take care.
Great write up, will miss GW a lot.
Great stuff, as always. RIP.
Thank you for sharing this. I appreciated reading it.
Thanks for reading and passing it along, Craig.
Well said, Jon.
I'm catching up with all of your pieces from the end of the year and this one was a wonderful read despite the subject matter. I was welling up every so often reading tributes the day after that game where he passed. I guess there's still more welling up to do even now. It's obvious what he's done for soccer going through the countless tributes from other journalists. Thanks, Jon, and thank you, Grant.
Thanks for writing that. I obviously only know both of you through your writing but Grant’s voice is still in my head. I only learned of his passing because I was annoyed he didn’t put out anything after that game because I was already semi-disagreeing with what I thought he would say. And then I learned what happened. It’s just so terrible. Unthinkable. All thoughts with his wife and family and also for all of you who cared for him and were inspired by him.