John Hawks, he was off the team and it all seemed so sudden and ludicrous. After all,

Hawks was born to play on the US national team. He came from a place that calls itself

Sokka Town USA.

Karni, New Jersey. Karni is a factory town, 35 minutes outside New York City and when

John Hawks was growing up, it was a town full of the kids and grandkids of Scottish and

Irish immigrants. People who arrived in late 1800s to work in the thread in Lernolia

mills.

Only one town the United States has developed three US national team players. They also

have some pretty good fish and chips.

They put their passion for Sokka with them and handed it on down from generation to generation

and onto John Hawks.

We just constantly played. We got kicked off the baseball fields. We were kicked off the

American football fields. We got the ball stolen by the police and then had to have our

dads go down and get the ball back again so we could play again that night. You know,

your mom yelling out the windows in the apartment buildings, just yelling for dinner and just

still not home because you playing for four or five hours after school.

Playing Sokka in the streets.

When he wasn't playing Sokka, we were working at the local fish and chip shop. John Hawks

was watching the game.

He'd head to the Scots American club along with pretty much everyone in you.

You know, we were catching all game on a table or something from Liverpool's old 80s team.

How did the world cup, did the world cup, loom large in your life as a kid?

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