Daring to Dream Big

The Home Depot Center Opening Speech
Los Angeles, CA - June 6th, 2003

Almost every accomplishment in our nation’s history has been achieved because of people who dared to dream big and act decisively. It is part of what continues to define us -- our government, our businesses, and our cultural institutions -- that is, the ability of a few men and women of clear vision to see around corners, to face enormous obstacles and still forge ahead.

These people not only never accepted defeat, but they managed to inspire those around them to join in their journeys. President John F. Kennedy said “one man can make a difference. And every man should try.”

What an inherently American truth that is.

These leaders -- these visionaries -- have been no less critical to the history of sports in this country. Football had George Halas, baseball had Walter O’Malley -- and soccer -- well, soccer has Lamar Hunt and Phil Anschutz.

Ladies and gentlemen. We are here tonight to celebrate two men who share an uncommon dream -- a bold vision for what the sport of soccer can be in the United States, and the resolve to turn their vision -- and our dreams -- into reality.

They both dare to believe in the future of soccer in the United States. They believe there will be a day when the millions of Americans who love the game -- with numbers exploding every day -- will have players and a league that rank with the best in the world.

For eight years, Major League Soccer has been inspired and supported by these two great men. What’s more, their vision and their action have shaped the entire sport of soccer in America.

We have become a “New Soccer Nation” and Phil Anschutz and Lamar Hunt are a great part of the “reason why”. They are the architects, the builders of this transformation.

Importantly, they have translated their vision from words and pictures, to a vivid and permanent articulation of what our sport can truly be. A sport with roots in our local communities. With players that embrace their responsibilities as role models. And with arenas that bear witness to the passion of what we call the “beautiful game.”

This last achievement may seem ancillary, but nothing could be more at the heart of their contribution.

When Lamar Hunt created a new phrase in the American sports lexicon in 1998 -- the Soccer Specific Stadium -- he was setting the stage for what would become one of Major League Soccer’s most important goals - - that of building stadiums our fans and our teams could call their own. Places that will proudly record our history, and become spiritual homes to generations of fans.

Phil Anschutz has taken the words soccer specific stadium and given them new meaning.

June 7th, 2003 will be remembered as a milestone in the history of Major League Soccer and our sport. The LA Galaxy will meet the Colorado Rapids in the first professional soccer game played in the Home Depot Center -- a true “soccer cathedral.”

The HDC goes beyond state of the art - - it will celebrate the game. It will be a place to inspire great athletic achievements, sealing these moments in our sports history. It is a place where soccer fans can feel proud of their sport, proud of their athletes, and proud of their country. It is a “theatre” where heroes will be made, traditions will be formed, and memories passed from one generation to the next. It is a place of permanence.

No doubt, in a few decades time, it will also be a place that resonates with stories of the early days of Major League Soccer and its accomplishments.

These stories will add to the annals of the sport. A history started with Walter Bahr and Harry Keogh and the members of the team that defeated England in the 1950 World Cup in Brazil.

A history featuring the legendary Pele and his NASL teammates from throughout the world. It is a history that led to the most successful World Cup ever, when FIFA tapped Alan Rothenberg -- one of our founders -- and U.S. Soccer to host the world Cup in 1994. And a history that led to one of our country’s most memorable events, the 1999 Women’s World Cup, and America’s first World Cup Championship.

It is a history that led to a bunch of kids from MLS teams in New York, Columbus, Los Angeles, San Jose and Washington, D.C. - - to name a few - - who stood toe to toe against world-soccer-powers and advanced to the quarterfinals of the 2002 World Cup in Korea.

And importantly, it is a history that led to Phil, Lamar, Robert Kraft and others to form Major League Soccer -- a league that provides millions of young kids from inner city sandlots to suburban soccer fields -- a dream of being a professional soccer player here -- at home, in the United States of America. A dream that one day they might walk through these gates wearing the uniform of the L.A. Galaxy, or the U.S. National Team, and play soccer in the Home Depot Center.

Few people have the ability to impact history in the ways our two honorees have. All you have to do is look outside this tent - - or watch our games each week - - to see the mark Phil Anschutz is making on our sport.

All you have to do is look back on Lamar Hunt’s 30 years of commitment, to see his impact on the lives of millions of Americans who care about soccer.

From the hundreds of MLS players, coaches and administrators, and the millions of our fans throughout the country - - thank you, Phil. Thank you, Lamar.

Thank you for turning your dreams into our reality.

- MLS Commissioner Don Garber