The late soccer scribe, who died while covering the World Cup on Friday, left behind a legion of admirers, for his passion for the sport and for his willingness to speak truth to power.
But most of the tributes and reflections have come from people who knew him or interacted with him on the soccer beat. They offered glimpses of his humanity, describing a guy who was thoughtful of others, free with advice and encouragement and was a passionate advocate of The Beautiful Game without being condescending or a snob about it.
I didn’t know him to talk to, which means I missed out. We were in the same place at the same time occasionally for men’s or women’s national team games or training sessions in Carson, or maybe important Galaxy or LAFC matches, and we were both part of the Zoom sessions that U.S. Soccer frequently uses as interview opportunities before important national team events.
I came for the soccer information and stayed for the righteous indignation. Wahl was joyously passionate about the sport and the people who played it. But he understood the graft and double-dealing and corruption that has historically been a part of the sport, and he pulled no punches in writing about it. And he was one of the early and vocal supporters of the effort to get equal pay and treatment for the U.S. women’s team, which has finally come to pass.
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