If you haven’t read it yet, there is an amazing story on SI about the birth of MLS as told by some of the players, owners, and managers from the beginnings of the league. Check it out, it’s a fantastic piece. My MLS, birth of the League anecdote
As such a piece does, and I’m sure it will do for you, it got me to thinking about MLS and it’s start, and where I was and what I was doing. I, in fact, have my own MLS ’96 story, and I thought I would share it.
Back in 1996 I lived in Boston and I had just finished graduate school and started my career in TV production (my real job). When the league was launched a friend of a co-worker was the PR guy for the Revolution. The Revs needed someone who knew TV and knew soccer to be their red-hat for the inaugural season. Said co-worker put me in touch and thus I landed the (unpaid) gig of red-hat on the initial broadcasts of Revolution games.
The red-hat, in case you don’t know, is the guy who stands at midfield, wears a red-hat, and tells the referee its ok to kick off. I know, clever name right? Now in college or NFL football this is a big deal, lots of commercials and what not. In MLS… not so much. It’s kick off each half and that’s it. The rest of the time you just sit there, hence the unpaid part (they may pay now, I don’t know). I tried of course to add more to my job since I knew soccer. I would pass along subs, things I noticed on the field, stuff happening on the sidelines, things like that.
Anyway to finish off this story, the first MLS Cup was played at Foxboro and I got to red-hat that game as well. ABC had me come in at the regular crew call about 9 hours prior to the game, but the didn’t have a place for me to go other than my spot on the field where there was a table and chair. So I spent 12 hours that day sitting at that little table in that freezing cold monsoon in a mostly empty Foxboro Stadium… Man was I cold and miserable that day.
The last 3 of it was of course the inaugural MLS Cup, for which I got the best seat in the house. Sitting at midfield between the two team benches with nothing to do but watch the game.
Ah, good times.
On the upside I got an amazing free seat to all the Revs games that year and MLS Cup. I also got a nice framed pin and ticket from the Revs, and a crew shirt and sweatshirt from ABC for the MLS Cup. The latter two I have to think are super rare souvenirs.
The 2nd season of MLS I got to be the associate director for the Revs home games, a nice paid step for me. It’s also a job inside the TV truck, a much more comfortable place to be.
At the end of the ’97 season I moved back to Dallas and started 3rd Degree.
