As a coach I do not believe you can afford to be a fan, but
I also know that you cannot help but have favorite players. Those individuals
who epitomize what it is to be an athlete and a professional. For me Steve Ralston, is one of
those people. Today Steve is going to announce his retirement as a player for
the New England Revolution. In pro sports I put him right up there with Carlton
Fisk and Jack McDowell, whom I had the pleasure of working with in my White Sox
days, as consummate professionals. It hardly seems that is was fourteen years ago that Steve
was a boyish looking rookie on a veteran Tampa Bay Mutiny team full of grizzled
veterans of soccer leagues around the world. He was rookie of the year in the
1996, the inaugural season of the MLS. He played on the flank and was tireless in
creating space, then tracking back on defense. His work rate was the best. He
was fit and soccer fit. He was both quick and fast. He had a deceptive first
step and getaway stride that enabled him to separate himself from his mark.
As a young rookie on that first Mutiny team than won the Eastern
conference regular season championship he was the rock, solid, you always knew
what you were going to get – a consummate team player. We had the mercurial
Carlos Valderrama distributing the ball, Roy Lassiter was a goal scoring
machine who set the league single season scoring record that still stands. Then there
was Steve, he was as quiet and even keeled as Valderrama was temperamental, as consistent and steady as Lassiter was inconsistent. Rumor
has it that Steve may go into coaching, I hope he does. Whatever Steve does he
will be one of the few heroes that I have from my work in professional sport.
It was a pleasure to work with him and watch him play. All the best to you
Steve, you are a tribute to the game and the MLS. You were a pioneer who helped
get the league established.