Maccabi in the genes – meet David Weiner
Odile Faludi introduces J-Wire to her successor at Maccabi…sports journalist David Weiner.
David Weiner
Sometime in January, that familiar excitement will set in. It happens every year, that incurable pair of itchy feet that can’t wait to lace on a football boot again. Or in my case of madness, don the goalkeeper’s gloves for another season (despite trying to convince everyone I should be down the other end of the field by now!).
And every year for the last 19 or 20 seasons, I’ve spent those days at the end of summer down at Centennial or Queens Park, reuniting with old teammates, excitement building for another campaign in the Maccabi blue.
Nowadays, I’ll head down together with my younger brother, Joel, and my old man, Tom, and we’ll supply Maccabi with their quota of goal keepers for the season. Those mad Weiner boys, there’ll always be one of them there between the sticks, even if it’s at 8am on a Saturday morning. It’s an incredible bond and interest.
But it’s more than that. By the time your family has schlepped the golden track between Heffron and Jellicoe on that many Sunday mornings, you’re part of a bigger family, the Maccabi family. It’s a contagious bug. I got hooked when I was six years old. I was always happy rolling out each year in my Sky, Navy or Royal Blue.
There’s something about being a part of an organisation where most of your teammates were school mates, or have also been part of the furniture for so many years that it means something to succeed with them. There is a loyalty to the jumper. You know when you leave the dressing shed you are representing much more than a team or club, but a community. A proud one, at that.
As I’ve got older, I’ve recognised the tremendous hard work that so many people put in to keep this organisation alive and thriving. Maccabi is the epicentre of the community and these volunteers are the heart beat of the organisation. It’s what makes this club not just great, but thrive and excel.
My old man will turn 50 during the next soccer season. It’s some feat to match to be still playing open competition at that age – but if that means I might have at least 27 more years of this to enjoy, bring it on!
