Sacramento closes Tower Bridge to traffic once a year and transforms its landmark river crossing into an open-air banquet in celebration of the Californian capital.
The finest chefs in the region create the menu, artists provide entertainment and sporting leaders join the VIP guests and civic dignitaries.
It is one of the big dates in the social calendar and it was there, by virtue of the seating plan, that Mark Briggs and Mike Brown struck up a friendship around a shared obsession with coaching.
Brown is one of the biggest names in the NBA and had been recently appointed to the top job at Sacramento Kings, who he went on to lead to the NBA play-offs for the first time in 17 years.
Briggs was a footballer from Wolverhampton, starting out at West Bromwich where he played alongside Enzo Maresca, and moving through a career of 20 clubs in lower league, non-League, Europe and North America, before finding his calling as a coach.
By the time he took his seat beside Brown at the Tower Bridge Dinner, Briggs was already causing a stir at Sacramento Republic in the United Soccer League, the second tier of football in the USA.
Wolverhampton-born Mike Briggs has been in charge of Sacramento Republic since 2019
There they put together a team almost from scratch after releasing 18 players and employing a data company for a recruitment drive. They identified Ireland and Venezuela as leagues to target and Briggs blended them with the local talent.
Then they reached the final of the Open Cup, the US equivalent of the FA Cup, knocking out three MLS teams including Los Angeles Galaxy along the way.
In doing so, the Republic transcended football’s usual place in the margins of the American sporting consciousness and became a huge national story.
So big that one day Briggs was in a bar in New Mexico when actor Kristen Stewart, most famous for The Twilight Saga, walked in with her agent, approached and told him they were rooting for his team.
‘Everyone loves an underdog story,’ he shrugs while relaying the unlikely tale. ‘The whole country got behind us.’
The fairytale Open Cup run ended in gallant defeat against Orlando City in the final, and Briggs followed it with another successful campaign, winning the Western Conference, but there is no promotion to the top tier in America’s franchise system. His friendship with Brown led him into elite coaching circles. Before he knew it, he was watching the Kings train, taking tips from their scheduling and the way their coaching team would communicate with players.
Former Cleveland and LA Lakers coach Mike Brown is currently with the Sacramento Kings
From there he found himself sitting around trading tactics with Brown and Steve Kerr, legendary long-time coach of the Golden State Warriors and a big Liverpool supporter, finding both enthralled by football, a sport that hardly stops for breath. Briggs recalls how Joe Mazzulla, head coach of NBA champions the Boston Celtics, had addressed the candidates on his Pro Licence course on the same subject, his respect and admiration for those trying to coach in a free-flowing game, with limited set-plays and no timeouts to step in and restructure.
‘We’d talk a lot about defending,’ says the 42-year-old Briggs in recalling his conversations with Brown. ‘We were both big on defending. They call it protecting the paint, defending the box. Details about body position, areas where you want to force opponents and how you can do that. And we’d be saying the same things. Basketball is transitional and football has become very transitional.’
Some might see football’s code of contact blurring into basketball’s, technically a non-contact sport, and, with the Americanisation of the Premier League, American branding and marketing, these two behemoths of world sport have never had more in common than now.
Briggs left Sacramento in November after five years. He has taken a breather for two months and is gearing up to channel this knowledge and experience into another challenge.
There will be plenty of interest in North America, where his reputation is well established, but it would be fascinating to see Briggs translating his success to these shores or even Europe, where he is already on the radar of a host of clubs.
Neymar’s romantic reunion with Santos
More tears at Santos. This time, happy ones. Two years after the farewell to Pele, forever their king, just over a year on from a humbling relegation from the top tier of Brazilian football, the Sao Paulo club are back, promoted at the first attempt and now all hailing Neymar, the returning prince.
He stepped into the rain at Vila Belmiro on Friday, No 10 on his back, diamonds twinkling in his ears, a ball dancing to his tune and bandana declaring his faith in Jesus. Help from above certainly won’t hurt in a quest for past glories after a serious knee injury and disastrous move to Saudi Arabia.
We adore a romantic reunion, so here’s to Neymar, poised to make his second debut for the club on Thursday, his 33rd birthday. In another era, Premier League clubs might have clamoured to lure him and sell some shirts. But he belongs at Santos.
Neymar recently rejoined Santos, having left the Brazilian club for Barcelona back in 2013
Five things learned this week
1. Stuart Pearce does not look like a man who’s easily impressed, yet he felt the urge while on commentary duty to stand and applaud Nottingham Forest’s 7-0 victory against Brighton. He hailed it one of the great City Ground performances. It is 30 years since Forest scored seven at this level. Pearce was among the scorers that day at Sheffield Wednesday. They went on to finish fourth and such a lofty outcome no longer seems beyond Nuno Espirito Santo’s team.
2. Aston Villa were the only team from Pot 4 of the Champions League draw to finish in the top eight and go straight to the last 16. It is testament to manager Unai Emery’s craft in Europe, although he has been unable to avoid the impact on Premier League results. Villa have taken just six points from 24 available after European games and not won one since September.
3. Luck of the draw plays its part in any cup competition and Celtic were blessed with Champions League home fixtures against what proved to be the weaker teams from each pot: RB Leipzig, Club Bruges, Young Boys and Slovan Bratislava. With a trip to Dinamo Zagreb, they faced four teams who went out. And Bruges who just hung in. Leipzig, the only Pot 1 team out after the first stage, drew four teams who finished in the top eight and only one from the bottom 12.
4. Burnley have not conceded in the Championship since Christmas. Eight clean sheets and counting. Nine goals conceded all season. Ten fewer than the next best defence, Leeds, and 54 fewer than the worst, Plymouth. What they need is a little magic at the other end. Enter Marcus Edwards, once dubbed Mini Messi by Mauricio Pochettino and a player Scott Parker will know well from coaching roles at Tottenham. The return of Edwards to English football after his success at Sporting Lisbon in Portugal is a new and intriguing subplot to the promotion race.
5. Hats off to the nine AFC Fylde fans who made the 530-mile round trip to see their team lose at Southend. And to those at Roots Hall who served them a free pie and hot drink in honour of their commitment to the cause. Born to be Fylde, as they like to say at Mill Farm.
