BOLT PROMISES TO BEHAVE
THERE was one name on everybody’s lips yesterday morning in Gosford, NSW whether they were a truck driver on the highway, a BBC journalist or an octogenarian at the leagues club.
Central Coast Stadium was in lockdown when Usain Bolt bowled in for the first time.
Few arrivals have excited the town’s population of 170,000 as much. No A-League training session has created such fuss. Tuesday’s guest list was restricted to about 100 members of the media. Club staff were the only others allowed to watch the Bolt show.
Within 90 minutes, it was over. The fastest man in the world was one of the last players to leave the pitch, sharing laughs with teammates then lighting up a 20-minute media conference with trademark panache.
“At the start, definitely,” Bolt quipped in the bowels of the Central Coast Leagues Club when asked if he would be in bed by 10pm every night.
“I’m not going to lie. I do want to enjoy the city and life but I’m still going to remember I’m a professional footballer. I have to respect the rules.”
There wasn’t enough evidence to judge whether Bolt’s audacious bid will be successful. That discussion will evolve during a trial that could last 12 months, according to coach Mike Mulvey.
Bolt is scheduled to play a trial game on August 31.