Jamel Amer al-Khodoud, an Algerian whose wife and children live in Marseille and who served in the French army in the 1st Transport Regiment, was a more subdued man, his 48 years and his rather pathetic tale of a search for jihad – encouraged by al-Jazeera's coverage of Muslim suffering in Syria, he said – leaving him a somewhat disillusioned man.
Minus the ability to have a full-length football field crammed onto the stage of a relatively small theatre, a director can make sure that drummers are drumming, runners are running, and tacklers are tackling until a sad and noticeably subdued man comes onstage in a wheelchair.
But Matsui was the most subdued man at Yankee Stadium.
"New York," the subdued man replied, and my nerves jumped into overdrive.
Upstairs, a large and more subdued men's section occupies the back half of the space.
Women's steps are often simple and subdued, men's steps complicated.
He resisted flourishes for a subdued but poigant turn as the man tasked with assembling the titular list.
His darting black tongue, together with his upturned chin and arching nose, gave the old man the appearance of a subdued but predatory hawk.
In his speech, delivered to a subdued audience, Mr Miliband said: "We have three million working men and women affiliated to our party.
It has made City's fans as anxious and pessimistic as their team, creating a subdued atmosphere inside Etihad that only enlivened with increased adversity for the nine men in the closing stages.
Jose Mourinho's side, a subdued force until then, took advantage ruthlessly with two goals in three minutes from ex-Tottenham midfield man Luka Modric and former United golden boy Cristiano Ronaldo to move into the last eight.
