But the headline, for now, wasn’t Rogers’ on-field abilities. It’s been his whirlwind year where he announced he is gay, retired from soccer, only to return after realizing he had much to offer. Upon arriving in the game in the 77th minute the crowd warmly applauded Rogers like any other player.
I won't ever forget tonight! I love my new home @lagalaxy.
— Robbie Rogers (@robbierogers) May 27, 2013
"No pressure at all coming in," Rogers told the Associated Press. "I got to totally enjoy myself and take it all in."
#WelcomeBackRobbie twitter.com/MLS/status/338…The Galaxy was soundly defeating Seattle 4-0 at that point, a perfect opportunity to introduce someone who had every right to be nervous, on a field that was home to one of the highpoints of his career.
— Major League Soccer (@MLS) May 27, 2013
Five years ago, the Home Depot Center was the same field that put the winger in my crosshairs as someone to follow in the years to come. It was the 2008 MLS Cup and Rogers was a young winger for the Columbus Crew. He was one of the three best players on the field that afternoon.
Rogers, when healthy, can play. Anyone who has watched him play knows it.
When Rogers announced he was gay in February, there was an appreciation, at least from me, for the raw honesty in his blog. The broader media gave Rogers a hat tip, but didn’t provide the context about an announcement of such magnitude. All the collective back-slapping was saved for a similar announcement 66 days later.
Sunday was a watershed moment in sports, because hardcore soccer fans have known the name Robbie Rogers for years. Those who do not follow the sport will soon realize he was a headline-maker on the field, long before his lifestyle usurped some of that attention.
"I'm back here kind of where I'm supposed to be," Rogers told the Associated Press Sunday night.
"It's crazy to me to think I stepped away from this game at 25," he said. "I'll sit in my bed tonight and thank God gave me the courage to do this and come back."
Upon reading Jason Collins’ revelation in Sports Illustrated that he is gay last month, the media chose to omit, or forget the sacrifices paved by Rogers, Glenn Burke and Dave Kopay. Instead there was a bonanza of coverage about “the first openly gay male in North American major professional sports,” or something of the sort.
However, the more I read and listened about Collins’ story, there was a part that wondered whether the announcement was all part of a PR bonanza to raise his profile.
Collins averaged 1.1 points, 1.6 rebounds and shot 31 percent from the field in the 10 minutes of action he saw last season in the NBA. Whether someone is 34 or 24, gay or straight, that is typically not good enough production from your backup center.
Rogers’ time away from Major League Soccer was blighted by injuries and ineffectiveness. Where he differs from Burke, Kopay and certainly Collins is his opportunity to not only be a “gay athlete,” or a “former professional athlete” but a “gay athlete” who happens to be a good at his job.
Let's hope Sports Illustrated has Robbie Rogers on its cover at some point in the near future, just as it had Jason Collins. (@grantwahl)Sigi Schmid, who coached Rogers when he played for the Crew, and was Seattle’s coach Sunday may have said it best.
— Liviu Bird (@liviubird) May 27, 2013
"It doesn't matter if you have a gay player on your team, it doesn't matter if you have a Jewish player on your team, it doesn't matter if you have a Baptist on your team," Schmid said. "I think we're becoming more cognizant that it takes all sorts of people to make this world go round, and we're a lot more accepting of that."
