New England Revolution striker Taylor Twellman has always been a jovial, impish sort. Some would even say he's young at heart.
Maybe they just should have looked at the calendar for an explanation.
Once every four years, the calendar boasts 366 days. It's called a leap year when the end of February arrives on Feb. 29, not Feb. 28.
On Feb. 29, 1980, Taylor Twellman entered the world. Twenty-eight years later, Twellman celebrated his seventh birthday on Friday.
"It's unusual for one so young to be so successful," Revolution head coach Steve Nicol said with a grin. "Physically, he's developed well beyond his years. But the mental part of it makes more sense."
Such a rare occurrence (Twellman's only other Revolution birthday came in 2004) merited a special observation, according to the team staff.
A birthday video for Twellman was prepared to commemorate the quadrennial occasion. Shot over the course of this week during training, Steve Ralston, Matt Reis, Chris Albright and Doug Warren were queried about Twellman's birthday.
Twellman said he didn't know the video was in production mode, even though he made a cameo during Chris Albright's segment. The right back proved as adept off the field as he does on it by quickly transitioning to a different topic when Twellman wanted some face time.
Once the team released the video on its website, the news quickly spread to the birthday boy.
"My mom called me because she was dying laughing over it," Twellman said.
Twellman gave the work a thumbs-up.
"I thought it was good, clean fun," Twellman said. "I liked it a lot."
Since Twellman only gets to celebrate his birthday but once every four years, one might imagine that the festivities can get a bit raucous. But Twellman said he did get to observe his birthday during years where it never actually occurred and indicated that he would get to enjoy his actual birthday a little bit before the team flies out for Mexico tomorrow morning.
The team's video wasn't the only surprise for Twellman on Thursday. The striker went over to a friend's house to hang out on Thursday night. The pair went around the corner to a local bar, where Twellman's sister, Alex, was amongst a group of friends waiting for them. Twellman said it was nice to have some family in town to help him celebrate.
After all, Twellman has to do all the partying he can this year. His next birthday doesn't arrive until 2012.
Kyle McCarthy is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
