His own personal battle with alcoholism had led him through despair, desperation but then 24 years of joyous sobriety, which he stood sharing through song with the audience.
But when he stood midway through a sloppy first quarter and removed his warm-up shirt, fans rose and cheered.
He stood out through his striking appearance: tall, lean, prematurely grey-white-haired, strong jaw, piercing eyes and a gravelly voice.
As the sun set, he stood up through his sport utility vehicle's sunroof, an orange cowboy hat on his head, and waved at somewhat startled men and women bicycling and walking home.
Billy Beane, however, is an unambiguous leading-man role, and "Moneyball" is a passion project for Mr. Pitt, one he stood by through an arduous development process that included a very public collapse when Sony pulled the plug on a version that was to be directed by Steven Soderbergh.
In all, Mowbray was in charge for 153 matches, winning 61, drawing 37 and losing 55. "Tony has a fantastic affinity with his hometown club and after the way he stood firm through the difficulties in 1986, I just hope the fans will accept he gave it his best shot and still hold him in deep affection for what he did for Boro all those years ago," added Rioch.
If the deal went through, he stood to make about three hundred and fifty thousand dollars, after the other parties took their share, and he was clearly reluctant to give this up.
At home this week, he stood leafing proudly through his private archives of Qaeda material, housed in a small, locked room with an electric sliding door.
He stood at four-over through five holes of the second round. .
Setting a pattern that he said had stood through all of his subsequent encounters with Britain's leaders, he treated it as a social occasion, a chance to get to know somebody who was making a mark.
