Showdown in Chinatown is an annual charity soccer match organized by basketball player Steve Nash and soccer player Claudio Reyna to benefit their respective charity foundations. The first edition was a nine-a-side match played on June 25, 2008 while the second edition was an eight-a-side match played on June 24, 2009. Both matches took place at Sara D. Roosevelt Park on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, New York City, and have featured two teams made up of National Basketball Association and international soccer players.
Inspiration and origins
Nash and Reyna became friends, as Nash spent his off-seasons in New York City and regularly played pick-up soccer, and Reyna played for the New York Red Bulls of Major League Soccer.[1] During the summer of 2007, Nash and Reyna attempted to play a pick-up game between one of Nash's teams and the Red Bulls in Central Park's Sheep Meadow, but park regulations prohibited ball playing on the field.[2]
The idea for the 2008 match came from Nash and Italian journalist and NBA TV analyst Simone Sandri, who asked Nash's friend Venanzio Ciampa, the president of the marketing firm The Promotion Factory, to organize the event. Ciampa said they chose Sara D. Roosevelt Park as the venue, because they "wanted a cool spot", and the park "shows the melting pot aspect of New York that Steve and I love."[3]
Team Nash beat Team Reyna Team, on three goals from Robbie Fowler and two goals each from Henry and Nash. Team Nash started the match down 0-2, but Henry took control of the game with a shift to a more attacking 1-3-3 formation, assisting on a goal by McManaman and scoring the equalizer himself.[7]
Goals:
Team Reyna: Davis, Kalou (2), Reyna.
Team Nash: Barbosa, Fowler (3), Henry (2), McManaman, Nash (2).
Bookings:
Team Reyna: Davis
Team Nash: Henry
Crowd
Fans hanging on a fence to watch the action
Admission for the match was free, and the all-star lineups attracted over a thousand spectators, what Stein described as "at least 2,500 people",[5] and fans packed the field two-deep around the field and four-deep around the outside fences.[8] Other fans climbed on top of cars, trees, fences and streetlights to get a view, and SLAM writer Lang Whitaker wrote, "it looked like the famous picture of Dr. J at Rucker."[9] Reyna said of the crowd, "We had it completely wrong in terms of the excitement. We knew people were going to come out, but we just couldn’t believe it when we showed.",[10] while Henry, who was mobbed by journalists and autograph seekers said, "I think it was great. I didn't know it was going to be like a lot of people around the Astroturf. But I guess they wanted to see Steve, Baron and the other guys there. I don't know, I think it was a great environment."[11]
