The latest in a series of posts profiling members of our Bay Area Gooners family.
If you’ve attended Arsenal matches at Maggie McGarry’s over the past decade, you may have noticed the urbane Stevens Williams amongst the Gooners. He explains, it’s not a typo or a law firm, but a family name.
Originally from Vermont, Stevens has lived in San Francisco since the Loma Prieta quake in 1989 (for which he accepts no responsibility). He loved cannons as a little boy, but says, if anyone is to blame for his support of Arsenal, it would be Nick Hornby.
His formative Bay Area Gooner years were spent at the bar, listening to Patrick (the late, legendary Gooner bartender) hold forth on various topics, with football usually foremost.
His preference to sit at the bar continued up until the 2017 FA Cup Final, but eventually Stevens ventured into the big room filled with red and white kits and that’s where you’ll find him on match days.
He enjoys the tribal aspects of the group, from the shared anxiety to the celebratory moments. All while reducing his family’s exposure to tedious, ill-informed dissertations on football. He counts Saka as his favorite current player with Aaron Ramsey as an all-time favorite, based in part on family heritage. He stands firmly pro-Arteta but cautions he was pro-Wenger to the very end, and it would be reasonable to question his judgement in these matters.
Most of the matches he attended last season were frustrating results. He missed the win over Manchester City and Arsenal’s demolition of Real Madrid. The (brief) return of Jesus, with his hat trick resulting in a big win over Crystal Palace, might be his favorite moment of the season.
Of watching the matches at Maggie’s, Stevens says, I grew up in a distinctly non-athletic family and in a relatively media-free era. I watched grainy black and white images on “Star Soccer” and “Soccer Made in Germany” and followed results on the back pages of the NY Times sports section. Even though I can now use a phone to watch sweat forming on a penalty taker’s temple, it can’t compete with the BAG experience.
If you see Stevens at the pub, introduce yourself. In addition to chatting about Arsenal, rumor has it, he can also pontificate on Notre Dame football.
We’ll continue to share stories of our Gooner family. If you’re a regular at Maggie’s and , want to be featured, talk to me at the pub.
Cheers, Mark
Bay Area Gooners 