WCB Team Member: Aaron

The Man in the Middle

Greetings everyone and thanks for taking the time to learn more about me – Aaron Corman – the guy who reports on the news about the ‘Man in the Middle’. Y’see, I’m not just interested in the referee’s perspective…I am a referee. And while you’ve never heard of me (unless you happen to live and play amateur ball in and around Portland, OR), I’ve been plying my trade now for more than a decade.

At the moment I’m living with my girlfriend back on the east coast in my hometown (Delmar) just outside of Albany, NY. How I ended up here is actually a story in and of itself. My original plan for the year leading up to the World Cup was to travel around the world beginning in South America in October before winding my way through Asia and Africa on my way to Germany. I had an ambitious plan to unite the world on what I was calling the Football for Peace Tour.

But only a few weeks into my travels I realized that following my heart on the path of love was an opportunity I didn’t want to forego. So here I am now, looking forward to a new journey with the woman I love at my side.

But working as a referee continues to be a great passion of mine as well as keeping me semi-employed while Jill and I figure out our future together, which I hope will include our return to Portland (aka Soccer City USA) by the end of ’06. Not only do I miss the extensive soccer community throughout the Rose City (as Portland is also called by locals), but I also look forward to spending future winters touring around the extensive alpine playgrounds that have been a highlight of my previous fifteen years in Oregon.

Besides being passionate about football and my career as a referee as well as being a backcountry skiing enthusiast, I am a staunch advocate of justice in all of its forms – social, environmental, political, etc. Perhaps this is why I’m well suited to being an arbiter of soccer matches – I’m deeply concerned about fair play both on and off the field.

As such, you’ll often find my missives to be about much more than just what happens on the pitch. Because I believe that a football match is just a metaphor for the world at large. And as we all know, there can be no peace without justice and working towards a more peaceful future is at the core of who I am.