02/06/2023
BELIZEAN LEGENDS SHINING STARS!
RABBI DEAD IS DEAD!
LEGENDARY BELIZEAN FOOTBALL ENTHUSIAST!
By Bilal Morris
Belizean Legends received the sad news of the passing of the legendary Rabbi Dead-Craig, one of Belize’s most unsung heroes among a long line of passionate Belizean sports enthusiasts.
Some many years ago a veteran and legendary Belizean football athlete told me a story of Rabbi, the football fanatic and passionate supporter of the game in 60s, 70s and beyond at the MCC GARDEN.
He said that there was a football game between Belize’s Charlie Good POLICE football team and a squad from Orange Walk. And so he narrated that the team from the north had a striker name Escalante and that the football forecasting skills of Rabbi Dead kept warning the Police goalkeeper Charlie Good that today he will “get 3!” from Escalante.
My Belizean football friend said that the proud and agile Good would chase Rabbi from the MCC fence disliking the uttering warning words and where Dead would walk around with a Guinness beer that never spilled all through the game from finish to end. But when Escalante scored the first goal on Good, the predictable Rabbi would come to the MCC fence where Good’s goal was and say, “Si whey a tell yo Charlie!”
Throughout the first and second half of the game, Escalante scored 3 goals on the notorious Charlie Good. And every time the striker from the north did so, Rabbi would appear by the fence to assure Good that he knew what he was talking about. Dead saw Escalante play at a game in Orange Walk and knew about the deadly ball skills of the striker.
And so the story goes that the last goal that Escalante scored on Good and becoming furious of Rabbi’s reminders and nagging, Good left goal, post, net and all, jumped over the fence and chased the shot caller Rabbi Dead straight through the MCC GARDEN gate.
Some time in the year 2000 I met the late Charlie Good at the AMANDALA PRESS and asked him about it and he confirmed the whole story with a smile.
True story! Long live Rabbi Dead and Charlie Good.
(Photo through the courtesy of whoever Belizean that took it)
