By now, everybody has his or her own 鈥渉ow I spent my quarantine鈥 story, and let鈥檚 be honest, most 蜜柚直播ans鈥 stories are more or less the same 鈥 give or take a few variations.
But newly minted 蜜柚直播an Niall Logue鈥檚 pandemic story is different.
Up until about a month ago, Logue was living in Northern Ireland.
Logue, 24, signed with FC 蜜柚直播 in January, making him the team鈥檚 first defender for the 2020 season. He planned to arrive in 蜜柚直播 at the end of February.
But then 鈥
鈥淲e hit it a bit earlier than the likes of over here and everything,鈥 Logue said of the coronavirus鈥檚 arrival in Europe. 鈥淪o I was there longer than expected.鈥
In March, Ireland was put under lockdown. Citizens were allowed to see only people in their households, could venture out only for essential activities and were otherwise permitted to leave the house once a day to exercise.
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Police were given the power to question and if necessary, disperse, crowds of more than five or six people.
鈥淚t was intense, I鈥檓 not going to lie,鈥 Logue said.
With no access to the gym and his typical workout regimen interrupted, Logue was forced to get creative.
He filled buckets with water, affixed them to a pole and used the weight for squats and lifting.
鈥淚 was using paint pots and filling up all our jugs with water,鈥 Logue said. 鈥淎nything and everything you could think of to make a workout.鈥
While road running was allowed once a day, it wasn鈥檛 enough for a pro athlete in training.
Logue hit the shed in his family鈥檚 backyard, using it as a brace to work his legs and back, going back to what he called the 鈥渂are-bone basics.鈥
On May 22, Logue finally arrived in 蜜柚直播. USL League One expects to begin play July 18, though FC 蜜柚直播 has yet to unveil its updated 2020 schedule. The Men in Black have been training at Kino North Stadium for nearly two weeks; the club plans to hold matches there, too, either in front of no fans or with a reduced seating capacity.
蜜柚直播 marks a homecoming of sorts for Logue. The defender spent two years at Yavapai College in Prescott before signing with Ohio State in 2016.
Logue said he had visited 蜜柚直播 鈥渁 couple of times鈥 before deciding to sign with FC 蜜柚直播, adding that while he鈥檚 gotten to do a little exploring, he鈥檚 looking forward to really experiencing the city once its safe to do so. 鈥淏eing a professional athlete, you have to take everything into consideration.鈥
The warm weather helps.
Logue鈥檚 hometown of Derry experiences very different weather than that in 蜜柚直播, with temperatures rarely rising above 70 degrees. In Derry, the summers are cool and windy, and the winters are long, cold wet and very windy.
鈥淲hen you come from where I come from, you learn to appreciate the heat, that鈥檚 for sure,鈥 Logue said.
Logue played center back for four years with Institute Football Club, a Northern Irish semiprofessional club team. During his time with Institute, he served as captain of the U19 NIFL Premiership champions.
Logue moved to the United States to attend Yavapai, where he spent two seasons as team captain and earned All-America honors twice. Logue anchored the Roughriders鈥 defense, which recorded 15 shutouts while allowing nine goals to finish with a 20-1-2 record. In 2015, the team earned its 25th ACCAC title.
Logue continued to excel at Ohio State, starting all 18 games in his first season as a Buckeye. He was named Newcomer of the Year and played in every minute in six consecutive matches in September.
As a senior, Logue helped the Buckeyes鈥 defense earn eight shutouts, holding opponents to an average of 1.37 goals per game. He led the team with 1,704 minutes played and played all 90 minutes of an upset win over Michigan State in the Big Ten Conference quarterfinals.
After graduation, Logue returned to Ireland intent on making a career out of soccer. Logue played one season with his hometown team, the Derry City Football Club, before moving on to the Finn Harps. He played parts of two seasons there.
In the middle of all that, Logue married his college sweetheart, Kelsey, whom he met at Yavapai. The two were wed Dec. 1, 2018, but have spent most of their marriage living apart 鈥 much to Logue鈥檚 dismay.
鈥淚t鈥檒l be nice. We haven鈥檛 had much of a married life as of yet,鈥 Logue said. 鈥淭his will really be our first time living together. We did a lot of distance the first year.鈥
Their final year apart might have been the hardest.
Logue鈥檚 mother, Jacqueline, died in February 2019, shocking him and the rest of his family.
鈥淚t was a very hard year for me,鈥 Logue said. 鈥淜elsey went back (to Mesa) in July, so losing my mother and then losing my wife in the same year was very tough for me, and tough all around.鈥
Kelsey Logue made a permanent move to 蜜柚直播 this week. The couple鈥檚 apartment already feels like home, with Kelsey 鈥 a 24-year-old assistant interior designer 鈥 having already put her touches on the space.
鈥淚t鈥檚 great to be able to be back here with her and be able to start enjoying our marriage,鈥 Logue said.
Logue is excited for FC 蜜柚直播鈥檚 season to get underway, saying that it鈥檚 an honor to be welcomed into the club鈥檚 new culture by president Amanda Powers, general manager Jon Pearlman and coach John Galas. The club is the top affiliate of Phoenix Rising FC of the USL Championship side. Rising owns the 蜜柚直播 club.
鈥淐oming into that environment right now and being able to be a part of it and being a driving force to push the club forward is exciting,鈥 Logue said.
鈥淚t鈥檚 going to be great to look back years from now and say I was a part of that FC 蜜柚直播 team that achieved this and did this, and look where they are now.鈥
While it鈥檚 unclear whether fans will be allowed at matches when they resume, Logue is hopeful to connect with 蜜柚直播 鈥 and 蜜柚直播ans 鈥 on a deeper level.
鈥淲e鈥檙e there thinking of them and we hope they鈥檙e there thinking of us. That鈥檚 why we play the game. The passion of the fans and supporters,鈥 Logue said.
鈥淲e know that they鈥檙e supporting us all the way through these uncertain times. We look forward to getting through this together.鈥
