Howard’s moves and reflexes were so impressive that he was randomly drug-tested immediately after the game. Howard tells ESPN Radio, “”I got dragged into drug testing, again, randomly so I didn’t hear all of [the reactions].” He joked to ESPN that “maybe” the test stopped being random after his 10th or 11th save.
And how about this for random? Howard who plays for Everton in the English Premier League actually scored a goal by booting the ball from his goalkeeper box into the net of the opposing team, catching the other team’s goalie completely by surprise. He actually refused to celebrate the goal out of sympathy for the opposing goalkeeper.
He really came into his own last season protecting the goal post for Everton.
Howard, who got a personal congratulatory call from President Obama, is a New Jersey native and has a son and a daughter.
Howard, 35, has refused to commit to another World Cup, but for those out there who are worried that he might have played in his last World Cup, goalkeepers’ careers usually last much longer than other players. They usually play well into their 40s. So don’t be surprised if Howard’s number (1) is called again 2018.