Watch Tim Howard as he glides with acrobatic grace through the crosshairs, making whiplash saves and reading the ball as if it were a child’s book. He is generally so clear-headed, so cool in the heat of all that mayhem, and when the match is over, when the anxiety that rivals running through traffic has simmered, Howard bolts for the locker room and inhales peace. It’s not exactly fair to say soccer saved Howard, because the bubble that nurtures him is ripe with his Christian faith, his family and an extended athletic Rolodex that stretches from North Brunswick, N.J., where he was raised, to the cathedrals of the English Premier League, where his airborne feats have tweaked the perception of the United States as a country not quite ready for the beautiful game. Howard is the 31-year-old goaltender who Friday will be the last line of defense for the U.S. national team in a World Cup Group C game against tiny Slovenia. He also happens to have Tourette Syndrome (TS), a condition that these days is far less worrisome than the bruised ribs that have been screaming ever since an English player slammed into Howard cleats-first, at full speed, in a collision during last Saturday’s match.
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Tim Howard Turns Tourette’s from Challenge Into Advantage
