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There was never any doubt about Finley's talents on the field. The problems centered on Finley being a less-than-classy competitor and a less-than-desirable teammate. Finley prepped at Marshfield, I'm a Marshfield native and that was the prevailing opinion and/or conventional wisdom among the local sports fans as conveyed to me by several former hometown cronies.

He was condescending to his teammates, often verbally undressing them during games. And some of his verbal assaults were not subtle either. Finley obviously knew he was head & shoulders above everyone else (teammates & opposing players alike) on the pitch. The problem was, he let everyone know it. He was suspended from the team towards the end of his junior season, and at the end of his senior season, the Wisconsin Valley conference coaches bypassed him for the "Conference Player of the Year Award," no doubt because of his lack of sportsmanship.

Those are the reasons behind Finley being the object of trash-talking coming out of high school, not his physical talents or his ability to excel on the field.

From what I understand, Finley has been a good teammate at Creighton. I'm sure being on the pitch with other players who possess similar skill sets, no doubt humbled Finley some and brought him back down to earth.

I spoke with some of Finley's Creighton teammates last summer at the US Youth Soccer Midwest regional tournament in Appleton. They were playing for a U-19 or U-20 team from Omaha. I asked them about playing with Finley at Creighton, specifically if he was a good teammate. Other than kind of a goofy grin by a couple of them, they didn't hesitate in their reply that Ethan was a good teammate.

Finley landed in Marshfield because his dad's career with the YMCA brought him there. Within a month after Finley graduated from high school, the family was gone. The dad accepted a position with YMCA in another state, I can't remember which state, however. Perhaps Nebraska, seeing as how Creighton is located in Omaha.

Didn't embellish or manufacture anything. Told it like it was and the reasons why. Another poster questioned some of the "trash-talking" that went on here on the WSN forum when Finlay was in high school. I was merely providing some substance to the reasons behind some of that trash-talking. I'm not saying one should be haunted by one's past for eternity. However, sometimes one's past does rear its ugly head and bites one in the ass. If you have any doubts about Ethan's high school antics, perhaps you should take a trip to Marshfield and look up some of Finlay's ex-teammates and ask them their version of things. Or, contact the Wisconsin Valley Conference soccer coaches as to how it happened that "Wisconsin's greatest soccer player" somehow avoided being named the conference player of the year his junior & senior years when he clearly was the best player on the pitch .....

I'm not condemning the kid. I wrote a follow-up post quoting his Creighton University teammates as to their take on Finlay being a good teammate. The implication was that Ethan had grown up, matured and perhaps learned how to get along with and tolerate others. I think the hidden message here (which I also alluded to) is that Finlay appears to get along fine when playing or interacting with others that are at his skill-level (college teammates, summer club-teammates, etc). However, apparently, there was another side to Finley that emerged when he was in high school when he had to play with less-talented teammates and opponents.

People change. I get that. I've lived long enough to witness it in others and experience it myself. I'm all about second, third & fourth chances, believe me. If Finlay is a team captain at Creighton, he must have earned his teammates' respect and have demonstrated leadership traits.

By the way, just to end any of your own unfounded speculation, I did not have a son who didn't make the team or lost out on playing time because of Ethan Finlay, as you suggested. As I stated in an earlier post, I'm a Marshfield native. However, I haven't lived there on a permanent basis since I went off to college after high school a few decades ago. I currently live in Appleton.

And, one more thing, as I mentioned in an ealier post, Finlay's parents were so enamored with Marshfield, that within weeks after Ethan's high school graduation, they moved out of town (which is their perrogative and, in & by itself, perfectly OK). Perhaps Finlay & his parents are the ones embellishing their time spent in Marshfield. They were not Marshfield natives. As I mentioned earlier, Finlay's dad's career with the YMCA brought them to Marshfield and probably played at least a partial role in them leaving (or at least made it more convenient to leave).

I strongly suggest you carefully re-read my ealier posts, #2 and #4 on this thread to gain some proper context and understanding of what is was that I was actually conveying regarding Ethan Finlay.

Oh yeah ....., as far as the "Wisconsin's Greatest Soccer Player" tag goes ..... I'll go with Green Bay native, Jay DeMerit, who logged significant playing time as a defender for Team-USA in the 2010 FIFA Word Cup:

http://www.ussoccer.com/...kles-The-Big-Screen.aspx

Marshfield Senior High School grad & Creighton University forward, Ethan Finlay, finishes as the runner-up to Hermann Trophy winner, Andrew Wenger from Duke. North Carolina's Billy Schuler finishes 3rd in the voting.

Congratulations to these fine real football players.