2007 soccer feature writing winner

The North American Soccer Reporters are pleased to announce the winner of the 2007 Feature Writing Contest.
Chicago Tribune soccer writer Luis Arroyave’s moving story about Bakary Soumare and his sanctuary found in soccer was the unanimous winner.

An excerpt:
November 18, 2007 Sunday
Soccer is his sanctuary;
Game, mates help Fire rookie Bakary Soumare deal with the deaths of his mother and brother
The phone in Bakary Soumare's pocket vibrates seconds after his name is announced as the second overall pick in January's Major League Soccer SuperDraft in Indianapolis.
He can't talk, not with a league representative leading him to the stage to shake hands with MLS Commissioner Don Garber, so his mother Bintou will have to settle for leaving a message.
Bintou Soumare, following the draft online from Paris, only recently had gotten a handle on what the draft is. Sure, it took Bakary's brother two hours to explain it, but she is proud and she will tell her son that once the interviews are done.
But the memory of that day will be bittersweet. As Bakary puts it, "I went from the best day of my life to the worst day of my life" only a few weeks later.

Arroyave’s story was a unanimous No. 1 selection by the three judge panel. The judges were given a package of stories that included feature stories written during the 2007 calendar year and submitted by the writers or their editors. Bylines and publications were removed from the entries presented to the judges by contest director Tobias Xavier Lopez, who was ineligible to participate.
The judges voted independently by selecting their Top-5 choices.
The judges were Star-Telegram deputy sports editor Tom Johanningmeier, staff sports writer Trae Thompson and metro editor Sonny Bohannan.
www.soccerreporters.com