Alan by Andy
I met Alan outside Regents Park tube in August 1986.
In a moment of post Mexico World Cup enthusiasm, I decided to create my own football team despite being a recent arrival in London and knowing precisely 3 people in the City – one of whom was my flat mate Bob, who knew Tom, who knew Alan.
And so all 3 of them were waiting at the tube that day for our first practice session alongside a group of what turned out to be extremely undistinguished footballers.
Due to our eclectic origins we called ourselves The Bohemians and made it all the way to January 1987 before a mid-season exodus of players and back-to-back 10 goal defeats led to a premature demise.
But from the ashes of that fumbling attempt to run a football team, emerged a near 40 year friendship that’s been underpinned by our mutual love of sport, pubs and lists.
And so after a career in journalism and a lifetime as a Watford fan, I knew he needed a new focus and that the time was right to ask Alan to join me on this 3ology journey.
Alan has brought rigor to the team and a steady hand to our development.
He is our metaphorical bass player, an anchor to our overall sound but banned from all Nevadan Bordellos.
Ainara by Daddy
We all have aspirations for our children and (hopefully) try not to be too overt about them.
So to find that my daughter is not only a big fan of board games but also ferociously competitive when playing them, means we’re in a pretty good place.
She’s already given me a thrashing at multiple games …
Flip Uno, Mastermind, Risk, Monopoly, Throw the Avocado, even Operation
I remain undefeated at Backgammon and Chess, but we all know, it’s just a matter of time.
Now she’s a part of the 3ology team and when you start to play the game, you can thank Ainara for the cool design of our playing pieces.
She’s also our kids consultant, having road tested a kids version with her pals – watch out for that release date.
What’s equally intriguing is that as she grows so do her opinions and perspective on the world, which is not easy when she becomes your 3ology team mate and you’re trying to 2nd guess her Top 3.
Andy by Alan
My first impression of Andy was that he was very young.
This was back in 1986 when he was 19 and organizing The Bohemians — a football team made up of players older than he was.
No one seemed to mind that a stripling was our leader — call it natural authority stemming from unfailing good humor and being quite tall.
There’s a line in a Bob Dylan song — something about people who suffer together having stronger connections than those who are most content.
Well, we all suffered together, with defeat following calamitous defeat. And the experience resulted in a friendship that has stood the test of decades.It has been hard to keep track of him over the years.
Egypt, Australia, er, Manchester, and now Madrid.
From tour guide to MBA student to serial entrepreneur.
‘Two lives, one body’, was how his best man encapsulated Andy’s relentless energy.
Some of that energy is now being focused on 3ology and unlike The Bohemians, I’m sure this one will be a winner.