BOB NUCHOW

(Introduction to my 30th book: SOMOS MÁS UNIDOS - 2026) Soccer wasn't part of my life's first years. I was born in Manhattan, NYC. My mom left her first husband, my dad, Bill Nuchow. She packed up an old station wagon, took my big sister and I from our home, then drove away from Bloomfield, New Jersey . I was fortunate to wind up and live my formative childhood years as a Catskills Mountain country boy upstate New York's Ulster County township of Woodstock and smaller 13 family village of Wittenberg in a cobble stone house. We were the last school bus pick up on Cold Brook Road for my 1-room Mt. Tremper School Annex during the Atomic bomb "Duck & Cover" Cuban Missile conflict scare.

My mom met and had remarried to her third husband after her second husband, met and married in Woodstock, died of cancer. They moved me south just outside of NYC to New Rochelle in Westchester County where my childhood became troubled and soured. I had packed a bag, caught a train into the city, a bus out of the city across the George Washington Bridge. I ran away from one home to another with my father in Leonia, New Jersey.

I brought everything that had troubled and sour within from New Rochelle to Leonia, Trouble continued getting me kicked out of school, then far away from my father's new family up to South Woodstock, Vermont.

That's where I began my soccer journey almost sixty years ago, in the Green Mountain state of Vermont where I was sent, attending Woodstock Country School at 14 years old.

I wasn't that good, gasping for breath running, staggering across a grass field trying to play mid-field. My first try and introduction to the beautiful game of futbol didn't last long and soon ended in a matter of days.

I forgot about soccer, after I was expelled again, leaving school and soccer behind. I got caught with alcohol in the dormitory. My journey of soccer was restarted, long after a lifetime was spent as a Vietnam era U.S. Field Artillery gun bunny overseas. a Teamsters, community organizer back stateside in New York City.

I relocated to L.A., became the Screen Actors Guild Foundation Program Director creating, producing hundreds of events for 120,000 member actors in 18 cities. That included dozens at Albuquerque, New Mexico's The Cell Theater on first Street between Roma and Lomas featuring Lou Diamond Phillips, Alan Arkin, Sir Ben Kingsley, Cate Blanchette, Wes Studi, Nana Visitor, Christopher Walken, Marsha Mason, and others.

A shared family's genetic pre-proposed to gastric cancer finally caught up to me, resulted in 2006 surgery, recovery, and relocation to my current home in the land of enchantment, Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Years and many jobs later, had me working as a cashier opening Taco Cabana's new Cottonwood store. Taco Cabana's owner started paying me to do marketing for his six stores in addition to cashiering at the Cottonwood store.

I saw an opportunity for such a marketing opportunity reading a posting by Ron Patel in LinkedIn while checking my page in that social media platform.

That’s when I first heard a professional soccer team was coming to New Mexico and restarted my soccer journey.

Following is an excerpt from "HOPETOPIAN BOUND," a novel started and left unfinished.

(...The land of Enchantment was, has been, and continues to be enchanted with visionary team founders, amazing sales, promotion, front office leadership, support, players, technical staff and coaches of our history making, undefeated new national professional soccer team, NEW MEXICO UNITED.

I’m proud to have gotten Taco Cabana on board as the team’s breakfast sponsor. Overseeing the delivery of and feeding the team Taco Cabana breakfast twice weekly has been one of my few joyful moments.

I am also proud to have been part of an ever-growing New Mexican United Nation family joining young, old, black, yellow, red, yellow and white, English and non-English speaking, all faiths, secular packing the parking lots enjoying the dozens of tailgate parties, then marching with excited fans as we stream across into stadium by the thousands to cheer on our team for every one of our NEW MEXICO UNITED home games.

Founding New Mexico United owner & President Peter Trevisani and Vice President of Sales & Partnerships Ron Patel began that journey in 2018, for New Mexico to support a team before it had a name, before its first player was signed, before it played even one game.

Peter later asked us to think about this as more than just a soccer team. He had asked us to blend art and sport, to embrace a crazy art collective named Meow Wolf as our new professional team’s sponsor, to see this team as an agent of positive change.

He had asked us to envision an entire state, United, and the change that the power of believing in each other can create, to be inspired, to reach out and renew our faith in each other with the dream of SOMOS UNIDOS…

That dream inspired and revitalized me when it became a reality just over one year after I started my new job with Taco Cabana last year when our new professional soccer team NEW MEXICO UNITED played its first home game on Saturday, March 9th. 2019.

“Our New Mexico United’s 1st game ever saw what very well might be the most important sporting event that has or ever will be played in Isotopes Park.” Peter Trevisani