When you think about your first moments with the Rapids, what kind of memories and emotions does that evoke for you?
The journey to Colorado was an interesting one for me, because I was playing in Mexico, getting ready to be sold to Cruz Azul, and I got a phone call from Sunil Gulati from MLS, who was going to come out and visit me in one of our games. At that time, I hadn’t made up my mind yet if I was going to come to MLS or stay in Liga MX. He gets me there, we start talking, and he says, ‘I need you to talk to somebody.’ Back then, we didn't have flip phones, no such thing as an Apple phone where we could Google really quick. So he's like, Phil Anschutz, wants to talk to you. To myself, I was like, okay, the owner of the team, got it. That was my first realization of how much Phil wanted me on his team, because he made it very clear that he was going to start a team in Colorado, and he wanted the guy that did a funny overhead kick in the World Cup to come play for his team. When an owner calls you, that's a special moment, because that means they're interested in soccer. The other one was the importance of when I walked into the locker room on gameday. I got here, I trained for a week, then we're getting ready to play our first game. Phil walked in with his family and we didn't even have to introduce ourselves. He walked up and he knew every single player's name. So those moments were important. We knew in 1994 that we wanted a league in our own country. We knew that we wanted to be able to leave some sort of legacy after the ‘94 World Cup, because we knew how big of a moment it was for soccer in the U.S. A lot of us sacrificed where we were playing—guys in Italy, guys in England, guys in Spain. It was important for us to come back and help establish and build a foundation for this league.
Scoring in my first game? I'll say this about that—it was a special moment, but it wasn't because of me. It was because Jean Harbor dribbles through two guys, runs at the back line and puts the ball in front of goal that was like putting a kid in a candy store and knowing he's going to eat everything. It was everything he did to lead to that moment, to let me put the ball in the back of the net. It was just a special moment when you walk out in front of 20,000 people. I played for the Colorado Foxes before that, we played at Inglewood High School and we drew 3,000 people. So now we take it to the next level, where it's a professional league, and all of a sudden, now you're nervous because you're walking out in your first game in front of 20,000 people that were excited to have a professional team in Denver. It was pretty cool.
This kit is steeped in the history of the club—what's important for the fans, the players on this team to understand what that means to the club?
Listen, once you sign for the Colorado Rapids, you are a part of our history, and history in our club is going to be important throughout the years. In 100 years, we're going to be sitting here one day, and our grandkids are going to be the ones that are doing this. So it's important for players in this club to understand how we got to where we're at today. And I think a lot of people forget about that 1996 team. The Steve Trittschuhs, the Sean Bartletts, the Jean Harbors, the Denis Hamletts of the world, the sacrifices they made, because a lot of these guys gave up full time jobs to come start this league, you know? Everybody had different careers, but I think it's important to understand the history of our club, because the history is the foundation of what we've been doing for years—be it through the academy, through the Rapids 2—the history of this club is important, and I think that all of them eventually will understand it. Maybe they're too young now, but when they get older, they'll understand they're a part of our history.
You’ve taken on so many roles with the club over the last 30 years: player, youth coach, broadcaster, radio host and now the “face” of a kit. How do you view your involvement in the Colorado Rapids community over the years?
That I'll leave up to the fans of the club, they'll put whatever they want on that. I'm not going to say what my role is or what it's done. My job when I came here was to help promote soccer. My job, to this day, will be to promote soccer. My job is to promote the Rapids and MLS. My job is to help this team and this organization be the best it can be, and that's all I've ever wanted. I'll do whatever it takes to help soccer grow, especially in Denver, Colorado, because this is where I've been for 30 years. This is the place I chose to live and to stay, and you'll see me at games or on the broadcast. You just see me out on the academy fields, wherever there's a little bit of a need of help. That's where I'll be.
Your iconic bicycle kick is on the jock tag of the OG Kit, making it one of the few in the soccer world that displays a player’s likeness. What does that mean to you?
It's pretty cool, a little humbling, because I wouldn't be where I'm at if it wasn't for my mom and dad and I wouldn't be where I'm at if it wasn't for the players that I played alongside. Because it's 11 on a field, you know. I wouldn't be there if Anders [Limpar] didn't cross that ball. I wouldn't be there if the trainer, Jay Mellette, took me off the field before I got that goal, because I got a concussion. It's humbling to be on a jersey, because I've never, in my right mind, thought that my image of a bicycle kick that I missed in the 1994 [World Cup] and then that I scored in 2000 be on a kit. I mean? It's pretty cool because I've never seen this in MLS. I think it'll hit me a lot more than the day that the jersey comes out, and when they do the jersey retirement ceremony, I think in a few months down the road, it will hit me more and more of how special this is.
What’s your favorite element of the OG Kit?
The green, the green, people! I know people are thinking, ‘Oh, it's got to be the bicycle kick image.’ I love the image. I do. But it's not about me, it's about the history of this club, and the history of this club is very important. I came here in ‘96 and we were green and gold, and we kind of went away from that over the years. I've always felt that the green is the initial jersey, the initial colors that we've always had. So I think green is very important to this club. I think it's very important to the community, because you still see people wearing that green jersey. The fact that we're bringing back the green as a retro kit was very important to this project that's been going on.
How did you first hear about this kit and your involvement in it?
It was Wayne [Brant], Caitlin Kinser and Jordan Rothrock that kind of laid the project out. It was hard to react. I'm like, ‘How do you say no?’ It was a cool project. They asked if I'd be willing to be involved and help, but they've done everything. I can't take any credit for anything. Wayne and the staff have done a great job. The jersey, the colors, the photo shoots were great—I got to go to LA to hang out with adidas for a day for it. So all credit goes to the staff, they’ve done a great job.
The club will be auctioning off player-worn OG Kits with all money raised going to a cause of your choosing. You chose the Boulder Humane Society—why?
I adopted my dog and he is my best friend. I go on hikes with him every day. We go six to eight miles, he puts a smile on my face. It's unconditional love. He's always wanting to be around me and I think that is something that—be it a dog or be a cat—it's just something special. They always seem to put a smile on your face. They always seem to want to be near you and hang out. I think it's important for people to see that maybe it's not a puppy, but it's a dog which needs love. We all need love. I think when you look at the pets, when you find the right one, that's an official love that you can't match.
What are you anticipating on August 16, the day the Rapids don the OG kit at home for the first time and your number 17 will be retired?
I expect nothing, seriously. I never thought that my number would be retired, because it's not something that happens in clubs often. You get a Ring of Honor, stuff like that. But to retire a number is really not something that a lot of teams do. So when I heard that they were going to do that it kind of caught me off guard a little bit, because this isn't a 17 being retired, this is everybody who was on the field with me. This is everybody who helped play and win games and lose games together. I'm fortunate enough that my number was played on the national team, but I'll be celebrating the fact that everybody who stepped on that field with me was a big part of me getting to where I where I was at—playing in a World Cup, playing for the Rapids, getting to finals. I'll celebrate the fact that all of those friends of mine and teammates that have helped me get to where I'm at.