Fox Soccer visits Hohenfels
By Maj. Will Griffin (JMRC Public Affairs)
U.S. Army photo by Benjamin Griffin
HOHENFELS, Germany-- Fox Soccer commentator Rob Stone and the rest of Fox’s UEFA Champions League Final broadcast team stopped in to visit Soldiers and Families at the Joint Multinational Readiness Center (JMRC) May 16, 2012. Accompanying Stone were U.S. Soccer Hall of Fame member Eric Wynalda, former England National Team and Premier League star Warren Barton, and former U.S. National Team and current Tottenham Hotspur goalie Brad Friedel.
The morning’s rainy weather didn’t stop Stone and company as they started the day with Soldiers from 1-4 Infantry Battalion and U.S. Army Garrison- Hohenfels in a friendly indoor soccer match. Each sports celebrity captained a team in a four-way round robin tourney before joining together to take on a Soldier all-star team.
Parting skies and sunshine paved the way for the Fox crew to spend time with 1-4 Infantry learning more about the battalion’s role as JMRC’s opposing force (OPFOR), providing the “enemy” for U.S. and multinational partner units that rotate through the training center to prepare for deployment or future contingency missions.
Stone, Wynalda and Friedel followed their visit with the OPFOR by taking an aerial orientation of the Hohenfels Training Area with the Falcon Observer/Controller-Trainer team in two LUH-72 Lakota helicopters.
U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Carol Lehman
The final stop for the soccer celebrities was a practice session with Hohenfels High School’s men’s and women’s soccer team. Barton jumped in with the “Lady Tigers” immediately and began a fast-paced series of drills while Friedel pulled both team’s goalies aside for some one-on-one mentorship.
The day ended with autographs and smiles all around as the foursome returned to Munich to prepare for their weekend broadcast coverage of the Champions League contest between Bayern Munich and Chelsea.
U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Carol Lehman
