WASHINGTON — Sports and the athletes that play them are often spoken about in terms of legacies ā stories with measurable beginnings and ends, despite the fact that many aspects of an athleteās career are entirely out of his or her own hands. Legacies are defined by both singular moments as well as the full body of work over the course of a career.
So what happens when the moment for which you are most remembered stands in such stark contrast to everything else youāve accomplished?
If you , you’ll know what momentĀ he’s remembered by. There are countless videos of his point blankĀ miss against Belgium in the 2014 World Cup, which would have likely put the U.S. through to the Round of 8. Of fansā reactions to the miss. Of articles condemning him for the miss, and for the decisions that led up to it.
Itās the moment of failure that stands in contrast with the rest of a successful career.
***
Wondolowski was never expected to be anybody. A decorated but lightly recruited soccer player out of high school in Northern California, Wondo āĀ as he was commonly known, even back then āĀ began running track his junior year. After he posted a 4:27 in his first ever 1,600 meter race, a number of top schools began calling to offer scholarships for him to run for them, including the University of California, Berkeley.
But all Wondo ever wanted to do was play soccer.
āI didnāt have that level of passion [for track] that I did for soccer,ā he told Ā鶹¹ŁĶų in a recent interview. āI wanted to go to a school that wanted me for that.ā
Wondo turned down the top offers for track to play Division II soccer at Chico State. While there, he scored 39 goals in 84 games, garnering enough attention to be selected 41st overall in the 2005 MLS Supplemental Draft by his hometown club, the San Jose Earthquakes. But he was mostly relegated to the reserve team in his first year, after which the team relocated to Houston. There he languished on the bench for the better part of four seasons, the prime of his career ticking away.
āIt was trying times, especially when I wasnāt playing as much as youād hope or want,ā he admits. āThe thing that kept me coming back was that I loved the team. But I would always question if this was the right path, the right line of work.ā
His break finally came in 2009 when he was traded to, ironically, the expansion San Jose Earthquakes, which had been revived the year prior, much the same way the Cleveland Browns were in the NFL.
When a couple injuries to players ahead of him forced him into the starting lineup, he took full advantage, becoming one of the premiere scorers in MLS.
āThe stars all kind of aligned,ā he explains. āI was fifth or so on the depth chart at forward ā¦ I just kind of took my opportunity and ran with it.ā
He was an All-Star by 2012, when he tied the MLS single-season record by netting 27 goals. A mere 105 career goals later, Wondo is the sixth-leading scorer in MLS history. At 32 years of age, he needs just four more tallies to jump into the top five. If he can score 40 more goals before he retires, heāll become the leagueās all-time leading scorer, passing the
***
Donovan and Wondolowski are already inexorably tied. The face of a generation of American soccer, many were outraged when Donovan was left off the final 23-man US Menās National Team roster for the 2014 World Cup. His stoppage time goal in the dying moments of the 2010 group stage game against Algeria was a moment of national convocation around the sport, drawing together fans both rabid and casual.
And yet, at age 32 himself at the time, DonovanĀ was left in the States as the club traveled to Brazil. The four forwards on the team included veteran locks Clint Dempsey and Jozy Altidore, as well as rising star Aron Johannsson. The fourth and final selection went to Wondo, who with the squad, proving his propensity to find the back of the net translated to the international game as well.
Head coach Jurgen Klinsmannās choice wasnāt definitively āWondo over Donovan,ā but many viewed it that way. When Altidore came up lame with a hamstring injury in the teamās opening game vs. Ghana, the forward position was stretched even thinner, and even more focus was put on Donovanās absence.
In the Round of 16, while goalkeeper Tim Howard was busy playing superhero and prompting Americans back home to try to , Wondolowski came off the bench in the 72nd minute as a replacement. The game remained tied into stoppage time when, in the 92nd minute, Jermaine Jones jumped for a high-arcing ball and headed it across the box to the feet of Wondolowski, just outside the six-yard box, the goalkeeper charging him in a last-ditch attempt.
In a game the Americans had somehow survived, the one glimmer of hope was suddenly a brightly shining beacon. The golden chance had been presented to the player picked for proving himself in just these opportunities. And thenā¦
After the ball cleared the bar, the hopes of the Americans flying into the stands with it,Ā Donovan, , jumped to his feet, sporting a look of disbelief, but also of knowing the camera is capturing his disbelief, coveringĀ his face with his hands.
***
, Stephen Colbert discussed the pain in his life from losing his father and brothers at a young age and described coming to terms with his loss, explaining how he became grateful for having experienced it.
āItās not the same thing as wanting it to have happened,ā ColbertĀ explained. āBut you canāt change everything about the world. You certainly canāt change the things that have already happened.ā
Wondo doesnāt live in regret from Brazil. While he was candid in his , he hasn’t let that moment own him. In fact, he lives in a remarkably similar and steady fashion to before anyone outside the MLS circles really knew his name.
Missing a goal isnāt the same as losing a family member. Wondo is married and has a baby, and as he returned to MLS, returned home, and scored for San Jose, .
On Saturday night, Wondo scored a nifty goal in the fourth minute to give San Jose an early lead it would not relinquish in a 2-0 win over D.C. United at RFK Stadium. Last Wednesday he scored twice, including on a diving header, to help the Quakes manhandle Sporting Kansas City on the road, 5-0.
While people might be inclined to try to wrap some sort of narrative redemption story around Wondolowski potentially becoming the all-time leading goal scorer, heās not focused on any kind of career mark as a counterpoint to any questions of his legacy. Of course, he would like to win an MLS Cup.
āYeah, I mean, the MLS Championship is the biggest one that drives me,ā he says. āBut individual accolades will always come along.ā
Wondo is also pragmatic about the fact that heāll likely never get another chance for redemption on the international stage. Heāll be 35 by the time the next World Cup rolls around, with another entire generation of young players ready to take his place.
āIām pretty realistic about my chances,ā he says. āIāve had a great run, and Iāve loved every minute of it. Whatever happens, happens.ā
***
Wondo should be not just a popular American star, but a celebrated one.
His rise from virtual unknown to the top of the MLS record books has been the stuff of fairy tales. His prominence as one of the lone Native American athletes in the spotlight (his tribal name, Bau Daigh, meaning āwarrior coming over the hillā) gives him a unique platform as a representative of an often underrepresented segment of the American population. He was the first tribally-enrolled Native American ever to represent his country in the World Cup.
Wondo is also generous with his spare time, helping out with projects like Street Soccer USA, an organization that uses the game as a vessel to help underserved, special needs and homeless youth and young adults, as well as those in recovery.
āThese are very similar people to us,ā he says of the program’s participants. āA lot of times they had just one bad break.ā
One bad break shouldnāt define anyone. Wondo should know.
