This Is Your D.C. United: Chris Pontius
"This Is Your D.C. United" is a new DCist feature, in which we'll talk to the people that help make the Black-and-Red one of the premier clubs in the North American soccer world. Keep checking back on Saturdays and Sundays for more discussions throughout the season.
Chris Pontius is a finisher. One look at his collegiate career puts that into perspective: 25 goals in 43 games over his junior and senior seasons at UC-Santa Barbara and numerous All-American honors earned him a reputation as one of the best forwards available in last January's MLS Superdraft. After netting two in six matches so far this year -- including the dramatic game-winner last week in a 3-2 win at New York -- who wouldn't want to claim him as one of D.C.'s own? Luckily for us, he wants to embrace D.C. just as much. In our first installment of This Is Your D.C. United, we talk to Pontius about his recent form, what it's like to play at RFK, what he likes about living in the District, and his big reveal as one of Cosmo Girl's "hottest soccer guys."
Chris, first of all -- how good did it feel to score the game winner last Saturday against New York?
It was an amazing feeling. It was a good team win, over the full ninety minutes. Things weren't going our way, really -- it was hot, the turf was burning our feet and to come out with a win, it was huge for us.
Where does that one rank in terms of your personal list of memorable goals? That's got to be right up there, right?
Oh, definitely. You know, being a rookie in MLS, any goal I score is going to be something that I'm going to remember for a long time. Just being out there, being able to play is something that I look forward to everyday.
You mentioned how hot it was - I had read that it was 120 degrees on the field last weekend at Giants Stadium. I know you're a West Coast guy, but how does playing in that kind of heat affect what you're doing on the field?
Well, I don't really mind the heat, as long as you're playing on grass. But when you're playing on turf, it really reflects off the rubber and it gets even hotter and it burns your feet. It really changes the game and affects both teams. I came off at halftime, and had to get taped up for blisters that I had. So, it's not so much the heat that kills me, but the heat combined with the turf that makes for an ugly game of soccer.
Sounds awful, I bet you guys are glad you don't have to go back up to Giants Stadium later this summer.
Yeah, let's hope not. [laughs]
Between you and guys like Rodney Wallace, United has a lot of youth in the starting eleven, game in and game out. But on the other hand, you're going to have a hard time finding another MLS side with as much experience. Can you talk about how the team is gelling so far, after six or seven games?
I think we take steps forward every day, through practice and through our games. Obviously, we have a lot of veteran leadership here, Jaime Moreno, Ben Olsen, Bryan Namoff, and even Santino Quaranta - those guys are out there every day they're helping us, they're showing us little tricks and what not. I feel sometimes there's almost a gap -- we've got a lot of older guys and a bunch of really young guys. But I think that everyone respects each other. We respect the veterans and they respect us back. They're understanding that we're rookies and that we're going to make mistakes. We're still learning everyday. I think it's coming along well.
Did you notice when you came into camp that there was a connection between some of the veterans and rookies? Did you have someone take you under their wing right when you got in?
Yeah, I think the person that's helped me the most through the rookie stuff has been [defender] Bryan Namoff. He's a great guy and he's told me not to get down on myself, you know - you're going to have rough days at practice where things just aren't going your way and that happens to everyone. You've got to remain confident, keep playing well, and just get through those days. So I think he's been the one that's helped me the most.
Can you give us a little taste of what the game day experience is like for you, what you kind of go through before you get out on the field?
Typically, a lot of our home games are around 7:30, so we've got to be in around six o'clock; that's the latest time we have to report by. Six to six-thirty, I would say, is mostly just relaxing, stretching a lot. Coaches aren't talking at that point, everyone is just getting dressed, and, getting into the rhythm of things. I would say around 6:30, the coaches come in, we talk about our game plan and go over our set pieces on the board. About 6:45, we're out to start warming up for a half hour, at which point, we come back into the locker room, change, get our uniforms on, and you go on and get ready for the game.
It sounds pretty compact.
Yeah, it is. When you're coming in, a lot of it is just mentally preparing yourself for the game. The game is very draining - for a full ninety minutes, you have to be mentally focused. So I think that's the biggest thing for me, is just mentally preparing myself for the game.
What's it been like playing at RFK in the few games you've had so far?
It's amazing. Going to UCSB, I was blessed to play in front of pretty large crowds for a college. Once I played in front of 11,000. I played in front of 10,000 a couple of times. So I was prepared maybe a little bit more than the other college rookies coming in. But talking about RFK, there's nothing like Barra Brava, you know? They're absolutely amazing - Screaming Eagles, La Norte. I can't really even talk about the feelings, but it's just like an amazing thing...
It's just a good thing.
Yeah. It's just, I mean, I was nervous the first couple of games and now I'm settling in. It's just nice to have all that support behind you. Very nice.
Let's switch it up a little bit. Back in the winter, when you found out that you had been selected by United, what was your first thought? Had you ever spent any time in the city before?
Yeah, I had been to D.C., I think, three times. I came here for an eighth grade trip, and came here the following summer with my parents; and after winning the national championship, I actually came here with my college team to meet George Bush in the White House, so...
Oh, wow, OK. [laughs]
[chuckling] Yeah, and my brother lives out here. When I got drafted by D.C., my family was very happy, I was very happy. I was coming out here, I was going to be with my brother, which would help me with the transition from coast to coast. D.C. is a great city, so it hasn't been hard for me at all.
I read that you and Rodney Wallace share a place in Northwest. How's that going for you?
Definitely. Me and Rodney have really hit it off this year. Living where we live is cool, I love our apartment. It's just nice to have a place of your own, in college, you live with kind of people who are a little bit sloppy, it's definitely nice to have a clean place.
Do you like your neighborhood? What are your favorite things to do in the city?
As far as the city, I love where we live - we're close to Adams Morgan, there's a lot to do around there. The Metro system is amazing, it's easier to get around without using your car. I would say the only thing that bugs me about the city is driving, the traffic. It takes me -- well, before Ben Olsen showed me a shortcut -- but when I first got my car and me and Rodney drove to RFK, it's only five miles across town, but you know, it would take us half an hour, forty five minutes to get there. I was just like, there's got to be a faster way. Thankfully, Ben Olsen told us a different way, so it only takes like 15 minutes now. Going through the heart of the city, through Chinatown, it's bad.
Especially on the weekends. I guess if that's the only beef you have with D.C. though, that's not too bad.
[laughs] Yeah, that's my only complaint.
So, just for curiosity's sake -- just what is it like being one of Cosmo Girl's "hottest soccer guys?"
[laughs] Ahhhhhh.
You had to know that question was coming.
Oh, yeah I'm fully prepared for that. I think it's cool...but...I don't know...[laughs]
[Laughing] I mean, what was the reaction in the locker room? Did the guys give you a hard time about it?
Well, I tried not telling them about it for awhile! I didn't tell them, but then they found out about it one day at practice, and they have not let it down. I mean, there's at least one Cosmo Girl comment every day now.
Well, if comments are the worst -- I was envisioning that one of the guys would give your locker a good glittering with some unicorn stickers or something.
No, not yet, but I'm sure that's coming some day. I don't think the guys have enough time on their hands to do that right now. But if they get bored one day, I can see them doing some funny things with it.
How did that come up? Did someone just come up to you one day and say "hey, listen, do you want to be in Cosmo Girl?"
Yeah, Kyle [Sheldon, D.C. United's Manager of New Media and Public Relations] came up to me and said, "Cosmo Girl wants to do this thing, would you be able to do it," and I said, "yeah, definitely." So that's the way it came about. Then they gave me a questionnaire.
Oh man, really, a questionnaire?
[sarcastically] Well, yeah, if you read the article, it's pretty in depth.
Chris and the rest of United take the field tonight at 7:30 p.m. against FC Dallas. But if you can't get enough of one of MLS' "hottest guys" from the stands, United is raffling off a chance to win Chris' game-worn jersey next Saturday at their Ladies Night. Tickets for Ladies Night, which precedes a match against Toronto FC, can be purchased here.