Teal Bunbury Leads a New Generation of Stars

By Adam Stern

After Akron midfielder Blair Gavin skied the deciding penalty kick over the cross bar to hand UVA the College Cup last December, his teammate and team talisman Teal Bunbury finally allowed himself to do something he hadn’t all season; consider the possibility of going pro.

The 6-2 marksman had scored a nation best 17 goals his sophomore season, five of which were game winners. He would struggle in the College Cup semis and finals, but that did not deter interest coming from MLS clubs. Bunbury signed a contract with Generation Adidas less than two weeks after the College Cup final to signify once and for all his intent to turn pro.

“Once the season was over I guess it was kind of an easy decision because my coach was like ‘you can’t pass up an opportunity like this,’” said Bunbury. “He gave me his blessings and now I’m on to the next stage of my life.”
In between his decision to turn pro and the MLS Draft in mid January, Bunbury spent most of his time collecting a shopping list of accolades.

On top of being named Player of the Year by three different publications, he was announced as the Mid-American Conference Player of the Year and was the recipient of the MAC Hermann Trophy, the college soccer version of college football’s Heisman award.

At the MLS Draft in Philadelphia, Bunbury didn’t know where he was going to land in the hours leading up to his selection. Indeed the only thing that seemed certain was that, one way or the other, Bunbury was going to be taken by a team that would make for a storybook beginning.

Most projected Bunbury to go to the Kansas City Wizards-a team that Bunbury’s dad, Alex, played for before retiring from his grandstand career. Rumors also swirled  that Toronto F.C. were ready to make a trade up so they could select him, a move which would have seen the Canadian return to his native country for his first stint as a professional.

Yet when Commissioner Don Garber stepped up to name which player the Wizards selected with the fourth pick of the draft, it was Bunbury’s name that was called- making his father and him the first father/son combination in the league’s 15-year history.

“My dad was a big influence on me, I feel it’s an honor to be the first father/son In the MLS,” said Bunbury. “You never quite know what team you’re going to go to because trades can happen but once they called my name I was real excited and I’m glad to be with the Kansas City Wizards family now.”

With preseason having just begun this week, Bunbury has now shifted his focus towards helping a team that ranked second worst in goals scored last season. However even as Wizards players return to the pitch, it’s what was struck off the field in Kansas City that’s dominating the most headlines these days.

Wizards CEO Robb Heineman announced last Wednesday that plans for a European-modeled stadium that will seat approximately 18,000 people was finally approved by the city council after years of countless political disputes and financial negotiations.  The $414 million dollar project will be a much welcomed addition to a franchise that has previously played its games in a too-spacious Arrowhead stadium before moving in 2008 to a too-small minor league baseball stadium that sits a mere ten thousand.

With opening of the yet-to-be-named park scheduled for 2011, Bunbury is hoping to establish a starring role for club and country in the meantime. Much ado was made about Bunbury’s decision to play for his native Canada instead of the U.S. on the international scene- a fact that the Ontario native brushes off seamlessly.

“I just feel like I was born in Canada and I would love to play for the country I was born in- bottom line,” Bunbury said.

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