Umbro’s Christmas Giveaway: Day Two
Thanks to everyone who entered our Christmas giveaway yesterday, we really enjoyed reading your responses – and congratulations to Matt Salmon, who we picked out as the winner. He chose a pair of Specialis signed by Michael Owen, which we’ll get in the post asap.
Today’s question is inspired by the fact that it’s now only 3 days until Christmas (you can see where we’re going with this, can’t you?) All you have to do to be in with a chance of grabbing something from our Christmas pile is tell us a story about you and football that involves the number 3 – it’s the magic number. So it could be about the best hat-trick you’ve ever scored, the reason why you love the traditional 3 o’clock kick-off, or the finest number 3 you’ve seen in your club’s colours. Basically, we want a great story that includes that number in some way, so get typing!
Here’s a reminder of the prizes that are still up for grabs…
An England away shirt signed by John Terry
An England away shirt signed by Phil Jagielka
A pair of Umbro Speciali boots signed by Michael Owen
A Sunderland shirt signed by the whole team
A Nottingham Forest shirt signed by the whole team
A Hull City shirt signed by Geovanni
2 pairs of Umbro Speciali boots signed by Pepe
A pair of goalkeeper gloves signed by Joe Hart
Terms and conditions for the competition are available to read here.
On 22 Dec 2009, at 10:48 am Daniel wrote:
Dennis Irwin. One of the finest number 3′s i’ve ever seen. Didn’t look like a footballer, more like an Irish penguin, but he could play. Pulling on the colours and the #3 of the two teams closest to my heart (Oldham Athletic & Manchester United (dubious i know)) he held down the LB position for both teams for a good number of years, never moaning, never complaining, just doing his job and could he strike a ball!? Free kick vs Palace in the FA Cup? He also didn’t ‘nearly crash his car’ when he was offered a lower-than-expected wage…
On 22 Dec 2009, at 11:31 am Jonathan Moses wrote:
3 is quite a special footballing number for me! It’s the number worn by my favourite ever player and perhaps not only one of the best defenders and number 3′s Nottingham Forest have ever had but also England, Stuart Pearce!
Not only was he a great player but such a great and honest guy too. He must have been terrifying to play against but must have been a huge boost to have on your side!
I remember seeing his penalty against Spain in euro 96 and it gives me goosebumps seeing his face and how much it meant to him, banishing his ghosts from italia 90.
A true footballer and gentleman, surprising considering the ease with which he could have broken your legs in a slide tackle should he have ever wished
Sadly Perace may not have gotten away with some of the fantastic tackles he made during his prime were he playing in this day and age! Wimps! His thunderous free-kicks would still make any keeper tremble though.
3 is also the number I wore as a lad on my shirt and also the amount of goals I ever managed to score in those 2 seasons I do believe!
On 22 Dec 2009, at 11:33 am Adam Brown wrote:
In my (career) i’ve got loads of Hat-tricks but not your usual type. i get Hat-trick assists and never get recognised for it!!! everyone looks at the goal scorers instead of the pass that has gone through.
The only one i got recognised for was a Cup Semi final and i had to change my usual position from the Right wing to sweeper i was…nervous to say the least. we were under the pump from the start and i made a few mistakes which didn’t help my nerves!!! but i recovered and started smashing that ball up field like a good old fashioned center back, but i was able to get my forwards to make runs, we won the game 5-0 with me contributing 3 assists and winning man of the match.
On 22 Dec 2009, at 11:33 am Joe Johns wrote:
Gimme that
On 22 Dec 2009, at 11:34 am Lala wrote:
Can I have them all?
I want them all for Christmas
On 22 Dec 2009, at 11:49 am Gjermund Holt wrote:
3 – 1985/86, West Hams best league position, although they should have won the title.
3 – the goals from Geoff Hurst, when West Ham/England won the world cup!
3 – points that West Ham need v Pompey on Boxing day!
On 22 Dec 2009, at 11:51 am Richard Brown wrote:
Last week I scored 3 goals, had a threesome then went home and had a Sunday dinner with 3 Yorkshire puddings.
That’s how cool I am! Now I will take 3 prizes.
On 22 Dec 2009, at 12:09 pm Sarah wrote:
Best player for me to wear the No 3 shirt is Patrice Evra for Manchester United. He yesterday was chosen as the best left back in the PFA team of the year awards and he totally deserves it!
I have a love/ hate relationship with the No 3; as I scored 3 goals in a season only for injury to stop me from playing again competitively
Also Fulham beating us 3-0 is still a little sore to take!
Let’s hope for 3 against Hull and hope our defence can keep 3 out! A nice clean sheet would be nice. And a hatrick from Rooney would be fab for my fantasy football team
On 22 Dec 2009, at 12:19 pm ken wilkinson wrote:
“2nd November 2008 Man United 4 Hull City 3,ok we lost but it still makes me proud that City scored 3 goals against such a brilliant side how how many sides go there and score so many goals yet still lose.
On 22 Dec 2009, at 12:32 pm Alex wrote:
3. 3. Oh the glorious 3…
3-0. 1986. In the sultry heat of Monterrey, Lineker, sporting a bandaged left-wrist, shrugs off the Polish defence (and the must-win spectre of an early exit) to settle English nerves in the 8th minute. Completing his 3 and England’s emphatic Polish destruction, before half time… As a 9-yr old this meant one thing. Time to have an ice-pop and go out and recreate it in the garden, satisfied in the belief that our country was the best in the world!
On 22 Dec 2009, at 12:33 pm Ben Ward wrote:
3 is the number of Football League grounds I’ve scored at.
First up, I won a ‘design a kit’ competition with Preston North End in 1997 when I was 10, and part of our prize was to play in our new strip at Deepdale before their Boxing Day game against Oldham. I suppose it was apt! that I opened the scoring with a calm side-footed shot from 15 yards.
I then scored a similar strike in a fairly ridiculous corporate game at Prenton Park, home of Tranmere Rovers a couple of years ago (I recall the game ending 9-4!), but the pick of the bunch has to be scoring at Goodison Park, home of my beloved Everton.
I bid to play in the FootballAid game there in 2006, earning a place up front for the second half on the Everton ‘away’ team. With 89 minutes on the clock, and having missed a couple of good chances, our team broke forward, sweeping a ball across the box. It looked to be drifting just wide of the far post but I somehow got there to stretch out a leg and turn the ball home from about half a yard to seal a 4-2 victory! I celebrated like an idiot, ripping off my shirt and running to the crowd of about 100 people (don’t get me wrong about the shirt – I liked it, because it was a yellow Umbro design!) – luckily I didn’t get booked, but I would have been happy to.
I would mention that I got another chance to play in the same game earlier this year, scoring a more cultured goal this time, but that would give me 4 goals rather than 3! The key is that I’ve played on 3 professional grounds, and scored at all 3 venues. Can anyone else boast a more prolific 100% scoring rate at any of the 92 Football League grounds?
On 22 Dec 2009, at 12:43 pm Lala wrote:
3 is the magic number!
On 22 Dec 2009, at 12:44 pm Loyd wrote:
3 is the magic number!!! haha
On 22 Dec 2009, at 1:18 pm Vic Russell wrote:
Everyone loves the 3’oclock kick off. The only time when…
…it’s acceptable to have four meals a day – breakfast, lunch, greasy burger with extra fries and extra grease, dinner
…it’s acceptable to do no work for an entire day – get up at 11, pre-match drink at 1, game, post-match drink, dinner, bed
…Jeff Stelling gets really really excited
On 22 Dec 2009, at 1:29 pm tracey rollings wrote:
i love 3 oclock when my three lads (two sons and hubby) sit and watch the match it means i get 3 minutes to myself, my peace was shattered however on 16th december because of jubilation when spurs slammed 3 goals against man city
On 22 Dec 2009, at 2:26 pm Michael Cunliffe wrote:
I’m afraid 3 brings back bad memories for me, I was about 16, on a school trip me and my friends entered a 3-a-side Belgian beach football tournament, there were people of all ages from all across Europe, a German team, a French team, several Belgian teams and a couple of Brits.
We were placed in a group with the Germans (3 huge guys about 6 years our senior) the “Stallion” Italians (about our age but with flair and footballing ability) and another English team consisting of two brothers (about 12 years old) and their little sister in goal.
We drew the opening game with a thrilling 3-3 draw against the Stallions, followed by a 7-0 thrashing by the Germans, going into the final game we needed to beat the English kids, hope the Germans beat the Italians and swing the goal difference by 9 in our direction.
With the Germans at 1-1 at half time we kicked off, having decided to throw the game and let the kids enjoy a win, even though we’d both go out, we shipped a goal (with me trying to scorpion kick save a penalty from the youngest brother, unsuccessfully) then found out that the Germans had really come out for the 2nd half and it had finished 8-1, meaning we needed a two goal victory to get to the quarter finals.
With about 5 minutes left we hammered these poor kids with everything we’d got, going 2-1 up, we got a penalty with about 30 seconds of extra time to go, which i stepped up to with confidence, tried a cheeky chip over the girl who can’t have been more than 10, she didn’t dive, it basically hit her in the chest and dropped into her arms, she throws it to her brother who runs the entire length of the pitch (with all our players stranded by their penalty area) to literally walk it into the net with 5 seconds to spare.
Net result, we’re bottom of the group, going back to the hotel earlier than expected and everyone gets to hear about how i was beaten by a 10 year old girl on the coach back.
On 22 Dec 2009, at 2:57 pm Andrew Hough wrote:
3 is for 3 o clock kick off on a Saturday afternoon. As a season ticket holder at a Premier League club, this is so rare nowadays. It does however allow me to watch my local non-league team, as the fixtures don’t clash very often. Non league is so different from attending a Premier League match. You can stand or sit where you want. You can hear the tackles, the players, the managers, & the officials. I love football at both levels but attanding a match at 3 on a Saturday is our history, our heritage, our tradition.
On 22 Dec 2009, at 3:43 pm Fireball wrote:
How can we not mention the greatest number 3 of all time, Paolo Maldini, only retired this year at 41! (What?) Remarkable that he started his Serie A career in 1985 at 16, when there was still a USSR, Madonna still claimed to be a virgin, and CR7 was in utero. Then 901 Serie A appearances (for one team), 7 Serie A titles, 5 Champions League titles, 126 caps for Italy (76 as captain). First ever defender named World Player of the Year, feared and loved as a legend by any player that’s played against or with him.
I saw him once in person getting a taxi in New York.
For present purposes, spy this Wikipedia stat: Il Capitano’s career goals for AC Milan: 33.
On 22 Dec 2009, at 3:45 pm adam smith wrote:
3, three is seen as a magic number, a prime number, good things come in threes. It was also the number of how many modes of transport I had to take to a game.
Blackpool v Plymouth to be precise, as a lifelong Blackpool fan getting promoted was a lifeline to high profile games, which we went to. We decided a trip to Plymouth would be one to tell the grandkids.
We planned to get the train, but because of the wonders of British rail the train broke down near Birmingham. Worried we would be late we jumped on the national express coach to London, as we got there there were no trains that would get us there in time, so me and my mate bought a 200 quid car and drove to the game
We left with 3 points, and a now legendary car that sits proud at the end of my drive
On 22 Dec 2009, at 5:46 pm Aaron wrote:
Thanks for all your entries folks, we’ve picked two winners out today because the standard was so good. First of all, well done to Adam Smith, who went to the extraordinary lengths of buying a car to see his beloved Blackpool play.
Also well done to Naomi Austin, who left a story on our Facebook page about her dad and brother-in-law getting a little confused about the kick off time at St James Park. They both get to pick something from the Umbro goodie bag, but it’s first come, first served!
On 22 Dec 2009, at 7:09 pm Naomi Austin wrote:
oooooh, I’m here!!! Am I first come?! If so would LOVE the John Terry shirt please… well I wasn’t gonna pick the Sunderland shirt being a Toon fan was I?!! ;o)
Thanks so much & glad I made you chuckle.. we still laugh about it every Xmas & we will never let them forget!! xx
On 22 Dec 2009, at 10:35 pm Zahra Lechak wrote:
Well when you think of 3.. good things can come in 3 or bad things. However, in 2009 3 things in the month of July happened to me and it went from AWFUL to AMAZING! 1. My mother was diagnosed with Breast Cancer and I had to fly to Maryland in the beginning of July ASAP for her surgery, mind you I live in Seattle WA. 2. During that time I play for a professional Women’s Soccer team and my team was going to the Championship of our division to the National Final 4. I had to miss one of the most important games in my life but obviously FAMILY comes first. 3. Finally on my way back from seeing my ill mother I was broke and my favorite team in the world “Chelsea FC” was coming to Seattle. The game was sold out and if I wanted a ticket I would probably need $500-1000 for a nosebleed seat and clearly I was broke and that wasn’t happening… so I found an add for free tickets and the guy wanted the biggest Chelsea fan to explain why they deserved seats 3 rows up for FREE! I wrote exactly the truth, I was broke because my mom had cancer and this would be my only chance probably EVER to see Chelsea and my boy JT. I won the tickets and the game was amazing! I also met JT “three” times and got a photo with him. So good & bad things can come in 3 and as awful of a month I was having.. meeting Chelsea FC/JT “3″ times was enough to turn the urban myth around!!!
Love from across the Pond!
Z
On 22 Dec 2009, at 11:06 pm Zahra Lechak wrote:
Oh sad… it isn’t 5pm in my city yet.. can you please consider my post
On 23 Dec 2009, at 12:30 pm Nathan wrote:
My 3 favourite players of my club Nottingham Forest are Earnshaw, McGugan and the mighty Wes Morgan. All 3 were amazing for us in league one and in their own ways have been crucial to our success so far in the championship. Earnshaw’s 3 goals in our emphatic 5 – 1 win over Leicester 3 weeks ago, McGugan’s goal and our 3rd against Preston at the weekend and Morgan’s contribution to our 14 games unbeaten run are examples of the sheer class that makes them favourites of mine and many other true fans.
These magic 3 have been remarkable for us over the last 3 seasons – getting promoted, staying up last season, flying high this – and it’s great to see them improve and playing regularly along with our quality new recruits like Blackstock and McKenna.
With only 3 days left until Christmas, there’s only one top team sponsored by Umbro currently sitting in the number 3 position. Come on you Reds!