11 Questions: Doug Erwin

Welcome back to 11 Questions presented by Piedmont Natural Gas — a weekly questionnaire series designed for you to get to know the people that make up Greenville Triumph Soccer Club. Each week, our own Marion Cole will ask someone from the organization the same ten questions, but the eleventh question will be from the previous interviewee. With players, coaches, and front office staff involved, we hope to bring you a fun look inside our club!

This week, I’m joined by Triumph SC’s Chief Branding Officer and Vice Chairman, Doug Erwin. Doug, an early supporter of bringing professional soccer to the Upstate, was a key voice in establishing the Greenville Triumph brand including the club’s crest and the organization’s overall mission. Graduates of Clemson University, Doug and wife, Lauren, have lived in the Greenville area since 2012. 

1. If you had a podcast, what would it be about and why?

I could go a few ways with this. I can talk sports for hours on end, so I’d love to be able to have a podcast as an avenue for that. I’m also a big music guy, and a couple of friends and I like to go through a favorite band a few times a year and rank all their songs in a Google Doc. When we get together to reveal our ranks, we go on and on about each song so that could definitely be a podcast.

I think it would be all over the place. I could pretty comfortably speak on most sports, but I’d also want to have one of my good friends who is a sportswriter on to have some ‘Pardon the Interruption’-style debates.

2. How do you decompress after a long week of work or training?

Definitely video games. I thought maybe as I got older that I’d taper off, but I still love playing them. And they’re a great way to turn your brain off while staying focused at the same time. I’m a sucker for a good racing game, and they require such concentration to get in a rhythm lap after lap that it allows me to block everything else out for a while.

3. What’s the most memorable meal you’ve ever had and why?

This is definitely the toughest question on the list. It’s hard to even pick out which way to take “memorable.” Is it the food, the environment, the company, or a mix of all? One of the meals that sticks out the most for me had the mix of those three. My wife and I were celebrating our first anniversary and were spending a weekend in Roanoke, Virginia. We went to a hybrid restaurant and jazz club, and I had a killer Cajun chicken and pasta dish that we both absolutely loved. That dish, mixed with the company and the music, made it very memorable. We’ve tried to recreate that dish a few times, and it’s really fun to cook because it involves flambéing the chicken in tequila.

This is a valid point. We’ve had a lot of great home-cooked meals, so it was tough to pick one out. I know this though: never turn down an invitation if Joe Erwin offers to grill steaks.

4. What was the most nervous you’ve ever been?

I feel like should say Greenville Triumph opening night aside, because that’s a given. Outside of that, I’d probably say the first time I ever taught a class. I was an education major at Clemson and spent the final semester of college student-teaching history and geography at the high school level. By the time you reach that point, you’ve spent countless hours observing classes, learning teaching methods and practicing lesson plans, but there’s no replacement for the first time you get up in front of 25 kids and have to keep them focused for an hour. I couldn’t eat or drink anything that morning because I was so nervous. Once that first class was out of the way though, you quickly get into a rhythm, but I would not like to live that morning over again.

I think the nervousness would be different. I’ve gotten to the point where I feel pretty comfortable speaking to a class now, but I’d be nervous about the material I was teaching unless I had a lot of time to prepare. Designing a curriculum for a class gives me heartburn just thinking about it!

5. If you’re up at 2AM on a Saturday night, what are you eating?

This is an easy answer: Taco Bell. That was my go-to late night snack during college and through most of my 20’s. Though I sparingly drink soft drinks, caffeine doesn’t have much of an effect on me so I can crush a Mountain Dew Baja Blast in the middle of the night and sleep just fine. In the words of Frank the Tank, “It’s so good, once it hits your lips.” Pair that with a Cheesy Gordita Crunch or two and we’re good to go.

6. What’s something you learned recently that blew your mind?

Okay, this is wild. Former President John Tyler, who was born in 1790, has two living grandsons. In 2020! He died before the Civil War ended, so learning that was stunning to me. Apparently he had children later in life, and those children must have done the same. The grandchildren were born in 1924 and 1928.

Bonus thing I learned that didn’t blow my mind but was fascinating: John Tyler is the only former President to be given a Confederate burial. He died in 1862 and was a Virginia native, so he was laid to rest in a casket draped in the Confederate flag… Can you tell I majored in Education and History?

7. Triumph SC announces they’re bringing a celebrity to the next match and wondering if you have enough time to say, “Hello.” Who’s the celebrity you’re most excited to have at a match?

I’ve been fortunate to meet a few pretty famous people in my life, and from that I don’t get easily rattled when meeting a celebrity. That said, however, I would 100% freak out if we brought in Andy Roddick. His success on the tennis court was the biggest reason I got in to tennis when I was younger and the sport has meant so much to me since then. I’d probably be shaking and stuttering trying to thank him.

8. What’s the most memorable sports moment you’ve had as a fan?

Again, Triumph opening night aside on this one too…it’s cliché around these parts, but the 2017 National Championship game, Clemson vs. Alabama. My wife and I broke the bank just to get some nosebleed tickets to the game, and it was an indescribable experience. I remember starting to openly weep when we scored the game-winning TD, and then just looking around at our section and seeing a bunch of Clemson fans, most of them grown men, all crying. Decades of riding the Clemson fandom roller coaster will do that to you. The collective feeling of joy, exuberance and relief in those stands was a feeling I will never forget, and being able to share that with my wife, who is also a Clemson grad, made it even better.

9. What sporting event have you always wanted to go to and why?

There are too many to list here, but I think more so than a specific event, I just want to visit more “cathedrals” of sport. The only real one I’ve been to outside of most of the MLB stadiums is Madison Square Garden, so I want to get to places like Augusta for The Masters, Wimbledon, Lambeau Field for a Packers game, Wembley, and so on.

10. If you’re part of a PK lineup, what number are you taking your penalty kick?

If I’m part of a PK lineup…man, we are in trouble. That said, I’d say third or fourth. I’m left-handed and left-footed, so maybe that change of pace a few PK’s in would throw the keeper off and help me find the back of the net. 

11. Triumph defender and 2019 League One Champion, Cesar Murillo, wanted me to ask you, “Having such a successful inaugural season, do you have any exciting plans for the forseeable future that you could tell us and our fans about?”

Wow, putting me on the spot! With the current state of home matches being closed door, there’s a lot of fun stuff on hold. We definitely want to recognize last year’s team for making the League One Final, and don’t remind me who we lost to, Cesar. One thing I’m always pondering is future kits, so while I don’t yet know the “what” or “when” with a new kit, just know we’ve got lots of good ideas!

Next week, I’m speaking with midfielder, Colin Stripling. What would you like me to ask Colin?

You had a decent number of goals in your college days at Monmouth. Though your first professional goal hasn’t come yet, I’m sure it’s going to soon, and I’m happy it will be with us…So what’s your celebration going to be?

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