TO ELTON LUTO HE COULD CARE LESS..HE IS OUR ALBANIAN...AND HIS TEAMMATES CALL HIM GIARGI..GIRAGI WITH ABSOLUTE AFFECTION..HE IS POPULAR WITH HIS FELLOW LIONS...IN FACT I WOULD BET NOT MANY EVEN KNOW HIS NAME IS ELTON LUTO...WHATEVER YOU DECIDE TO CALL ELTON LUTO HE WILL GREET YOU WITH A SMILE AND A JOKE..EASYGOING MAY BE A WORD TO DESCRIBE
GIARGI....THE KID LOVES THE SPORT
THIS IS HIS STORY, FROM WHAT I HAVE GATHERED OF IT THUS FAR..HE IS INTERESTING TO ME LIKE MANY OF THE LIONS
GIARGI DOESN'T LIKE MUCH..DIDN'T LIKE SCHOOL...HE QUIT BEFORE HE FINISHED HIGH SCHOOL....DOESN'T LIKE GONG TO THE PAELESTRA AND PUMPING IRON...IN FACT THE ONLY APPARENT MUSCLE THAT HE HAS IS HIS PROTRUDING STOMACH MUSCLE..THEN AGAIN WHEN HE DID WORK HE WAS A CHEFF..AN ACCOMPLISHED ONE AT THAT...HAVE YOU SEEN MANY IN SHAPE CHEFFS??.MOST ENJOY SAMPLING THEIR WORK..HE QUIT THAT JOB SO HE COULD CONCENTRATE ON BALL.. .DOESN'T HAVE A GIRLFRIEND..DOESN'T LIKE HIS MIDDLE BROTHER..SAYS HE STEALS HIS CIGARETTES FROM HIM, ALTHOUGH HE DOES LIKE HIS YOUNGER BABY BROTHER.MOM AND DAD ARE HARD WORKERS AND THEY ARE PROVIDING FOR HIM NOW.
WHAT HE DOES LOVE IS FOOTBALL...IT GRIPPED HIM AS A YOUNG TEANAGER...NOW ALL OF 21 HIS LIFE IS FOOTBALL..HIS TEAMMATES KNOW HE IS CRAZY..WILL HIT ANYTHING THAT MOVES..TAKES PRIDE IN BEING THE WEDGEBUSTER ON KICKOFFS..HE CAN BE SEEN RECKLESSLY THROWING HIS BODY INTO AS MANY GUYS WITH DIFFERENT COLOR SHIRTS AS HE CAN..A SUICIDE BOMBER..MY DAD USED TO REFER TO THE GUYS LIKE GIARGI AS "NUTSQUADERS"..THAT FITS ELTON.
GIARGI...OUR NUTSQUADER....WEDGEBUSTER
HE IS A LINEBACKER FOR US..WEARS #34...IF YOU GO ONTO HIS FACEBOOK PAGE YOU WILL SEE ALMOST EXCLUSIVELY FOOTBALL PICS..VIDEOS..AND FOOTBALL CONNECTIONS...I SMIRKED WHEN A SAW HE WAS IN DICK BUTKUS' FANCLUB AND SENDS HIM MESSAGES NOW AND THEN..HIS PREGAME INSPIRATION COMES FROM A SONG CALLED "FIRST BREATH AFTER COMA" SUNG BY THAT POPULAR GLOBALLY KNOWN GROUP.."EXPLOSIONS IN THE SKY"..I HIT THE VIDEO LINK AND THE FIRST SHOT IS BRIAN DAWKINS AS AN EAGLE GIVING ONE OF HIS TRANSFORMATIONAL PEP TALKS IN A PREGAME HUDDLE..GOT ME JACKED UP THE WAY RAY LEWIS DOES A RUNNING BACK ...WHICH HAPPENED TO BE THE NEXT SHOT IN THE VIDEO
ELTON WEARS #34..BIG FAN OF WALTER PAYTON
THE KID LIKES THE SPORT..WE ALL NEED SOMETHING TO SINK OUR PASSIONS INTO AND THIS KID HAS FOUND OUR AMERICAN GAME..FUNNY HOW THAT CAN HAPPEN TO AN IMMIGRANT KID FROM A COUNTRY MOST COULDN'T LOCATE ON A MAP EVEN WITH SOME HELP FROM WIKIPEDIA.
BY THE WAY IF YOU TRAVEL TO THE BOOT OF ITALY..PICK A TOWN..BARI..BRINDISI..AND LEAVE FROM ANY OF THEIR ROCKY BEACHES AND SWIM DUE EAST ACROSS THE ADRIATIC SEA YOU WILL LAND ON ALBANIAN SHORES..A PLACE CALLED TIRANA IS THE CAPITAL... ALBANIA IS ROUGHLY THE SIZE OF THE STATE OF MARYLAND..HAS A POPULATION SOMEWHERE NEAR 4 MILLION PEOPLE..
IT ALSO IS POOR..VERY POOR..THE AVERAGE HOUSEHOLD INCOME IS UNDER $4000 DOLLARS A YEAR..UNEMPLOYMENT IS HIGH..IN FACT THERE ISN'T EVER MUCH WORK THERE..GIARGI SAYS THAT MEN IN ALBANIA WITHOUT JOBS WAKE UP AND BEGIN DRINKING GRAPPA THROUGH MUCH OF THE DAY.
THATS WHY THE ALBANIANS COME TO ITALY..THEY ARE LOOKING FOR WORK..THEY ARE LOOKING FOR OPPORTUNITY..THEY ARE IN SEARCH OF A LIFE..JUST LIKE MOST IMMIGRANTS ANYWHERE..THEY COME TO ITALY WITH REPUTATIONS OF THIEVES..UNTRUSTWORTHY..CRAZY..WILL DO ANYTHING TO GET WHAT THEY WANT..A REPUTATION THAT MANY IMMIGRANTS CARRY ANYWHERE AROUND THE WORLD
THUS, THE UNFLATTERING NAME OF GIARGI.
BUT ELTON HAS FOUND HIS WAY..I MENTIONED HE IS A CHEFF..BEEN COOKING IN FINE RESTRAUNTS SINCE HE WAS 14..SCHOOL WASN'T HIS CALLING
I STARTED A COOKING CLUB..COOKING WITH GIARGI..HE WAS HERE AT VILLA MORONI LAST WEEK AND WENT TO WORK..THERE WAS THE TUNA MARINARA SAUCE OVER PASTA RIGATONI..THE RISOTTO WAS PERFECT..THE LEFTOVERS WERE EVEN BETTER.
GOOD LBer.....BETTER CHEFF
LIKE AL CHEFFS, HE HOVERED OVER THE STOVE LIKE A PARENT PROTECTS HER 9 MONTH OLD THAT IS JUST GETTING MOBILE...CRAWLING EVERYWHERE ... CANNOT TAKE THEIR EYES OFF THE BAMBINI NOT EVEN FOR A SECOND..SO IT WAS WITH GIARGI OVER THE STOVE..ADDING BROTH TO THE MIX..ADDING A VARIETY OF SPICES..NO RECIPES..JUST THE TASTE TEST.
THEN CAME THE FINAL TEST..AT THE TABLE HIS EYES WERE GLUED TO MYSELF.VAN PELT AND HIS GIRLFRIEND..NOT EVEN A BLINK..JST A STARE AT ALL 3 AT THE SAME TIME..WHAT WOULD THE FIRST TASTE BE LIKE???
COOKING WITH GIARGI.....MAKES IT LOOK EASY
HIS EYES WERE BLANK..RESULTS..FLAVOR..TEXTURE..""DO YOU FREAKING LIKE MY WORK OF ART??""..THE ANSWER OVERWHELMINGLY WAS YES YES YES..DELICIOUS..MANGIA MANGIA..ITALIAN COOKING IS REALLY SO SIMPLE..THE KEY ARE THE FRESH INGREDIENTS WHICH CAN BE FOUND IN ALMOST EVERY ALIMENTARI IN ITALIA..THEN ITS JUST UNDERSTANDING THE TASTE AND HOW HOW TO MIX INGREDIENTS TO WAKE UP ALL OF YOUR TASTE BUDS
DURING THE CLASSE IL CUCINO THERE WERE THE STORIES..THE HISTORY..WHY FOOTBALL?..WHEN DID HE SART PLAYING?..FOR WHAT REASONS?...WHY WHY?? ..WHY HE QUITS WORK DURING THE FOOTBALL SEASON TO CONCENTRATE ON THE GAME..THE CRAZINESS CAN POP AT ANY TIME..HE CAN OPEN BEER BOTTLES WITH HIS TEETH EASIER THAN IF YOU HAD TO ONLY TWIST OFF THE CAP...LIKE ALL ITALIANS THERE IS ALWAYS A TIME FOR A CIGARETTE BREAK...USUALLY FOR ELTON IT IS BETWEEN NAPS..POSTGAME AND POSTPRACTICE..HE SAYS SOMEDAYS HE SMOKES A PACK A DAY, WHILE ON OTHER DAYS HE MAY NOT SMOKE AT ALL..HE HAD A STICK GOING SOON AFTER OUR WIN VS CATANIA A FEW WEEKS AGO..GIARGI MADE IT KNOWN THAT HE HAD 2 SACKS THAT DAY.
NATURAL BOTTLE OPENER..HE GOT SKILLS
AND SO FOR THE LIONS GIARGI IS AN IMPORTANT PART TO THE DEFENSE THAT HAS BETTERED ITSSELF EACH WEEK..A MONTH AGO WE SURRENDERED 49 POINTS TO THE PARMA PANTHERS..LAST SATURDAY IN OUR WIN VS VALENCIA DI SPAGNA WE HELD THEM TO 21 POINTS.WE ARE GETTING BETTER.
OUR FRIENDLY, FUN, ALBANIAN IMMIGRANT IS ENJOYING HIMSELF..HE IS DOING WHAT HE LOVES...THE GAME IS IMPORTANT TO HIM..HE SHOWS UP TO EVERY PRACTICE READY TO WORK..WILL DO WHATEVER THE COACHES ASK OF HIM..VERY GOOD ATTITUDE.WE ARE CULTIVATING YOUNGER PLAYERS TO CARRY ON A 27 YEAR TRADITION OF WINNING LION FOOTBALL..I THINK GIARGI IS A PART OF THAT FUTURE
BERGAMO LIONS BANER..A WINNING TRADITION
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