Tommy McNamara brought up a half century of appearances for NYCFC with his substitute appearance at Orlando City on the opening day of the MLS season on Sunday.
To celebrate, we tasked ourselves with the unenviable task of compiling 50 facts about everyone’s favorite hirsute, golazo-scoring New Yorker.
Wish us luck… here goes!
1. Tommy was born in West Nyack, New York
2. Other notable people from Nyack include Stephen Baldwin, Caroline Babcock and the band, Coheed and Cambria.
3. He was born on February 6, meaning he shares a birthday with Bob Marley, Axl Rose and Babe Ruth.
4. He attended Don Bosco Prep – the same school as Speed and The Lost Boys star, Jason Patric.
5. McNamara played for FC Westchester as a kid, playing games on the fields of SUNY Purchase where he now trains with NYCFC.
6. Tommy played soccer at Brown University in Rhode Island, the same college attended by former Secretary of State John Hay, actress Emma Watson and know-it-all Family Guy dog, Brian Griffin.
7. He went on to play a fourth year of college soccer for Clemson University Tigers where Oguchi Onyewu, Stuart Holden and Paul Stalteri have also played.
8. He became only the second Clemson player to be named an All-American both on and off the field in the same season.
9. Tommy earned a bachelor’s degree in economics from Brown.
10. In 2013, Tommy was named Second Team All-American by the NSCAA and a First Team Academic All-American.
11. Tommy is eligible to play for either the U.S Men’s National Team or the Republic of Ireland.
12. McNamara’s first visit to Yankee Stadium for a soccer match was in 2013 when he went to see Spain vs Ireland – little did he know at the time that one day it would be his home arena!
13. Tommy told amny.com that his favorite restaurant is TAO Downtown.
14. His favorite other sports team is the New York Giants.
15. He can wiggle his ears.
16. Tommy’s favorite footballer of all-time is Stephen McPhail, who used to play for Leeds and Ireland.
17. If he could play one other sport, he would play ice hockey.
18. His favorite meal is chicken parm and spaghetti.
19. If Tommy could have a super power, he says he would go for super speed.
20. His first job was as a construction worker.
21. His favorite ice cream flavor is chocolate chip cookie dough.
22. McNamara’s best TV show growing up was Rocket Power.
23. If he could be any animal, he would choose a penguin... “they always look like they’re having a good time.”
24. The first concert he ever went to was Third Eye Blind.
25. Tommy’s favorite actor is Adam Sandler.
26. If he wasn’t a soccer player, Tommy thinks he would have gone into the finance industry.
27. His go-to karaoke song is “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough”.
28. Tommy was drafted 20th overall in the second round by Chivas in the 2014 MLS SuperDraft.
29. He made his professional debut on March 9 2014 against Chicago Fire.
30. His first professional goal came in the same game – in a 3-2 opening day win.
31. Tommy’s season came to an end in April when he suffered an ACL injury.
32. DC United acquired Tommy in the 2014 MLS Dispersal Draft on November 19.
33. NYCFC signed Tommy as their eighth pick in the Expansion Draft of 2015.
34. His debut came against Sporting KC at Yankee Stadium on March 28 2015.
35. McNamara’s first goal came versus Philadelphia Union on June 6 and it won the MLS Goal of the Week.
36. In his first season, Tommy made 19 appearances for NYCFC, scoring five goals.
37. Tommy’s golazo on the opening day of his second season at NYCFC against Chicago Fire in was the first goal of the season.
38. That season, he scored similar long range screamers against the Red Bulls and the Portland Timbers.
39. His goal against New England Revs won him the AT&T Goal of the Week award in Week 4.
39. In total, Tommy scored five times in 2016 in 30 appearances, helping NYCFC to the MLS Playoffs for the first time.
40. Man, 50 is a lot of facts… Tommy’s nickname is “T-Mac”.
41. He considers Lionel Messi as the best player in the world.
42. Tommy grew up supporting Glasgow Celtic Football Club.
43. McNamara’s favorite ice hockey team is New York Rangers.
44. Tommy has a cult following – in fact, there’s a Twitter account dedicated to him, named @CultofMcNamara.
45. The new training facility in Orangeburg is situated two miles away from Tommy’s parents’ house.
46. Tommy’s whole family plays soccer – his mother and father both played, his young brother Ryan played at the University of New Hampshire and Monmouth University.
47. Tommy drives a Nissan Sentra.
48. His favorite artist is Kendrick Lamar.
49. Tommy signed a new deal with the club in December 2016 – a reward for his two excellent seasons.
50. We got there… finally, Tommy made his first appearance of the new season as a substitute in Orlando – bringing up 50 Regular Season appearances for the club.
50 FACTS. 50! FIFTY. Slow motion high fives all day long.
