Mas Galaxy

I've stopped caring about Copa America, at least for the rest of the day (that's what I'm telling myself so I don't get irritated).

Anyway, with the Galaxy Hispanic story shipped over to the PE, I've decided to get back to my original story that never made it in the paper. Originally, the story was about the lack of Hispanic players on the Galaxy; after Carlos Pavon signed, it shifted the focus a bit. I was still able to use some of Cien's quotes and some of the things Alexi Lalas told me but I also talked to Peter Vagenas and Joe Cannon for the story.

Some things got left out. This is a chunk of the original piece I thought would be good to present here. I tried to balance the topic here a little.

---Still, the absence of a Hispanic presence seems odd considering the large Hispanic population in Southern California and the club’s own history. Throughout the years, the Galaxy has traditionally had a Hispanic presence. Two years ago, Hispanic players were instrumental in leading the Galaxy to a pair of titles. Herculez Gomez, a Mexican-American born in East Los Angeles, scored the only goal in the U.S. Open Cup final. Guatemala native Guillermo “Pando” Ramirez scored the game-winning strike in MLS Cup 2005 and joined countrymen Carlos Ruiz as the only Galaxy players to score in Galaxy MLS Cup victories.

From star players such as Carlos Hermosillo and Eduardo “El Tanque” Hurtado to role players such as Pablo Chinchilla and Alejandro Moreno, players of all skill levels and roles have played key parts in the Galaxy’s history.

(I took out some stuff from here but it continues...)

In the past, though, acquisitions with the Hispanic community in mind have backfired for the Galaxy. Eight games into the 2000 season, the Galaxy gave up Clint Mathis to bring in Mexican national team star Luis Hernandez. In two seasons, Hernandez had 12 goals but had little impact with regards to attendance. Mathis, meanwhile, had 13 goals for the MetroStars in 2000 and became a key U.S. national team player the following year.

Also, the club took forward Isaias Bardales Jr. in the 2001 MLS draft over Eddie Johnson in part because of Bardales’ Hispanic background. Bardales played in 13 games, scored no goals and has been out of MLS since 2003. Johnson, meanwhile, was on the United States’ 2006 World Cup roster and has 29 career MLS goals.---

So that's some of the things I wasn't able to fit in my story for tomorrow.

This topic is so deep, I could write a series of stories on it. I guess what struck me the most when I realized that the Galaxy didn't have any Hispanic players was the way the club used to bring in players by the dozens it seemed like, Hispanic players. Like I mentioned above, stars such as Tanque Hurtado and Hermosillo as well as the role players, there were Hispanic players throughout the roster, and I wanted to explore why that wasn't the case anymore.