At the World Cup, a do-gooder receives a reward in full

No two days are quite the same.

But most of them do not wind down in a Topgolf parking lot, ruminating on the day’s events with someone who had just managed an act of unusual generosity — spending thousands of dollars of his own money to take six soccer lovers he barely knew or didn’t know at all to a World Cup game that they could not have afforded on their own.

That was Wednesday with Vince Thompson.

“It’s one of the greatest days of my life,” he said.

You may have read a pre-World Cup column I wrote about Thompson, the 63-year-old founder and CEO of his own sports marketing agency, Melt. It focused on his plans and rationale for what ultimately took place Wednesday.

Thompson had read a column I had written about how soccer fans in Atlanta and the state of Georgia were being priced out of the World Cup, illustrating the problem with the stories of two fans in particular.

Thompson read the story and reached out to me shortly after, moved to do something. He first arranged to buy World Cup tickets for the two fans featured in the story. His next step was to do something similar with Soccer in the Streets, an Atlanta nonprofit that offers free soccer programs to children from underserved communities in the city.

“I mean, it’s quote-unquote, a lot of money, but it’s not a lot of money if you can get a wave of inspiration going,” Thompson said then.

So that’s how Wednesday came to be.

He bought six tickets for Soccer in the Streets, which it shared with two of its young participants and one parent each and two of its staff. Not nosebleeds, either, but lower-bowl seats in Atlanta Stadium (Mercedes-Benz Stadium).

Thompson also brought along his son Carter (who was a magnificent cat herder on this day), a friend and a man who had recently made a key for Thompson’s car and the man’s wife. I filled out the party for the group-stage game between Haiti and Morocco.

Inviting a random person such as a key maker who happened to show up along his life’s course — to say nothing of donating six high-priced tickets to Soccer in the Streets — seemed on brand for Thompson.

He is a people person with a heart for others who has made a career out of generating big and different ideas. It has helped make him a high-powered marketer whose list of clients and partners includes Coca-Cola, the NFL, NCAA, ESPN, Aflac Inc. and the Olympics.

“He’s done stuff like this before,” his son Carter said. “I don’t know to this scale.”

The stadium pulsated with energy. The game careened back and forth. Playing its final group-stage game, Haiti was already eliminated from advancing but played for pride, scoring two first-half goals that set off spine-tingling roars. Morocco ultimately prevailed 4-2.

The emotion in the stands was palpable. The swings of the game swept up supporters of both sides. Chants and songs in a swirl of languages filled the stadium.

Aside from two fans who got into a fistfight not far from us, the stands were filled with supporters of two teams from different parts of the world, but not enemies.

Surely, for many thousands, it was a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Haiti hadn’t been to the World Cup since 1974.

“It was awesome,” said Makeisha Robey, mother of Ethan, one of the two youths selected to attend. “We definitely wouldn’t have been able to go (otherwise). Ethan loves soccer so much, to be able to see this right here, it’s special.”

Thompson grew up in small-town Alabama. His sporting tastes lean heavily to SEC football. But, seated in a different section, he called me in the middle of the second half with a message that apparently couldn’t wait.

“This is unbelievable,” he said. “I’ve never seen anything like this.”

He later told Carter that they needed to come back for another game.

In a short gathering after the game, gratitude was expressed and Thompson kept marveling at how amazing the game was. We parted ways.

Thompson, his friend Ruth Reynolds and I ended up at — where else? — the Waffle House by Centennial Olympic Park before we made it through downtown gridlock to Topgolf’s Midtown location.

The day’s adventure had begun there, as the entertainment complex had hosted a watch party for Soccer in the Streets participants after the company’s CEO (David McKillips, a client of Thompson’s) overheard Thompson talking with Soccer in the Streets officials about his plans and wanted to do something to contribute.

That’s where Thompson and I shared our conversation about this unforgettable day. It was a cool night for June. The moon shined brightly.

Thompson was reflective. He had just returned from Mobile, Alabama, where he had been at his mother’s hospital bedside as she recovered from what he described as a near-death medical crisis.

And now he had just taken part in a global spectacle and, at significant cost, enabled others to share it with him.

“Do nice things, maybe it comes back to you,” he said.

There had been other ripples. After the column about Thompson, Q99.7’s “Q Morning Crew” show had him on as a guest, which he was told sparked a response from listeners. StubHub donated tickets to Soccer in the Streets for Saturday’s game between Congo and Uzbekistan.