By now, everybody has his or her own “how I spent my quarantine” story, and let’s be honest, most Tucsonans’ stories are more or less the same — give or take a few variations.
But newly minted Tucsonan Niall Logue’s pandemic story is different.
Up until about a month ago, Logue was living in Northern Ireland.
Logue, 24, signed with FC Tucson in January, making him the team’s first defender for the 2020 season. He planned to arrive in Tucson at the end of February.
But then …
“We hit it a bit earlier than the likes of over here and everything,” Logue said of the coronavirus’s arrival in Europe. “So I was there longer than expected.”
In March, Ireland was put under lockdown. Citizens were allowed to see only people in their households, could venture out only for essential activities and were otherwise permitted to leave the house once a day to exercise.
Police were given the power to question and if necessary, disperse, crowds of more than five or six people.
“It was intense, I’m not going to lie,” Logue said.
With no access to the gym and his typical workout regimen interrupted, Logue was forced to get creative.
He filled buckets with water, affixed them to a pole and used the weight for squats and lifting.
“I was using paint pots and filling up all our jugs with water,” Logue said. “Anything and everything you could think of to make a workout.”
While road running was allowed once a day, it wasn’t enough for a pro athlete in training.
Logue hit the shed in his family’s backyard, using it as a brace to work his legs and back, going back to what he called the “bare-bone basics.”
On May 22, Logue finally arrived in Tucson. USL League One expects to begin play July 18, though FC Tucson has yet to unveil its updated 2020 schedule. The Men in Black have been training at Kino North Stadium for nearly two weeks; the club plans to hold matches there, too, either in front of no fans or with a reduced seating capacity.
Tucson marks a homecoming of sorts for Logue. The defender spent two years at Yavapai College in Prescott before signing with Ohio State in 2016.
Logue said he had visited Tucson “a couple of times” before deciding to sign with FC Tucson, adding that while he’s gotten to do a little exploring, he’s looking forward to really experiencing the city once its safe to do so. “Being a professional athlete, you have to take everything into consideration.”
The warm weather helps.
Logue’s hometown of Derry experiences very different weather than that in Tucson, with temperatures rarely rising above 70 degrees. In Derry, the summers are cool and windy, and the winters are long, cold wet and very windy.
“When you come from where I come from, you learn to appreciate the heat, that’s for sure,” Logue said.
Logue played center back for four years with Institute Football Club, a Northern Irish semiprofessional club team. During his time with Institute, he served as captain of the U19 NIFL Premiership champions.
Logue moved to the United States to attend Yavapai, where he spent two seasons as team captain and earned All-America honors twice. Logue anchored the Roughriders’ defense, which recorded 15 shutouts while allowing nine goals to finish with a 20-1-2 record. In 2015, the team earned its 25th ACCAC title.
Logue continued to excel at Ohio State, starting all 18 games in his first season as a Buckeye. He was named Newcomer of the Year and played in every minute in six consecutive matches in September.
As a senior, Logue helped the Buckeyes’ defense earn eight shutouts, holding opponents to an average of 1.37 goals per game. He led the team with 1,704 minutes played and played all 90 minutes of an upset win over Michigan State in the Big Ten Conference quarterfinals.
After graduation, Logue returned to Ireland intent on making a career out of soccer. Logue played one season with his hometown team, the Derry City Football Club, before moving on to the Finn Harps. He played parts of two seasons there.
In the middle of all that, Logue married his college sweetheart, Kelsey, whom he met at Yavapai. The two were wed Dec. 1, 2018, but have spent most of their marriage living apart — much to Logue’s dismay.
“It’ll be nice. We haven’t had much of a married life as of yet,” Logue said. “This will really be our first time living together. We did a lot of distance the first year.”
Their final year apart might have been the hardest.
Logue’s mother, Jacqueline, died in February 2019, shocking him and the rest of his family.
“It was a very hard year for me,” Logue said. “Kelsey went back (to Mesa) in July, so losing my mother and then losing my wife in the same year was very tough for me, and tough all around.”
Kelsey Logue made a permanent move to Tucson this week. The couple’s apartment already feels like home, with Kelsey — a 24-year-old assistant interior designer — having already put her touches on the space.
“It’s great to be able to be back here with her and be able to start enjoying our marriage,” Logue said.
Logue is excited for FC Tucson’s season to get underway, saying that it’s an honor to be welcomed into the club’s new culture by president Amanda Powers, general manager Jon Pearlman and coach John Galas. The club is the top affiliate of Phoenix Rising FC of the USL Championship side. Rising owns the Tucson club.
“Coming into that environment right now and being able to be a part of it and being a driving force to push the club forward is exciting,” Logue said.
“It’s going to be great to look back years from now and say I was a part of that FC Tucson team that achieved this and did this, and look where they are now.”
While it’s unclear whether fans will be allowed at matches when they resume, Logue is hopeful to connect with Tucson — and Tucsonans — on a deeper level.
“We’re there thinking of them and we hope they’re there thinking of us. That’s why we play the game. The passion of the fans and supporters,” Logue said.
“We know that they’re supporting us all the way through these uncertain times. We look forward to getting through this together.”
