Crowds followed Pelé, whether he was playing a competitive match, a friendly, or just making a promotional stop, whether in Boston, Benin City or Brasilia.
"I see they are kids 5 and 6 years old and I know they never saw Pelé play," he said while surrounded by a few hundred, mostly young, admirers during a 1993 appearance at the Galeria Mall in Cambridge. "It is hard to say why or understand why."
Pele, the Brazilian soccer superstar and global icon, who won a record three World Cups, died Thursday. He was 82.