Cobi Nears the End of the Road

The web has been alive with odes to Cobi Jones, who is set to hang up the boots at the end of this season. The Galaxy have two games left, home against New York and at Chicago. A playoff berth is in the balance. The Galaxy’s improbable run from worst soccer team in America a month ago to possible post-season contender highlights a few things: how good Kyle Martino is, that the team can actually play without Becks, and that MLS has a ridiculous playoff structure (in which 8 out of 13 teams qualify.) It basically makes the regular season a perfunctory exercise.

But back to Cobi. As Nick Webster points out, Cobi has been one of the catalysts in making American soccer matter to people. Remember what it was like before the ‘94 World Cup. Soccer was out in the wilderness. Cobi was a fan and marketer’s dream, with his dazzling runs, 1,000-watt smile, flying dreads, and unbelievable passion on the field. On his back, American soccer came in from the cold.

Click here for a set of poignant, but unintentionally hilarious videos that Galaxy fans did with a cardboard cutout of Cobi. Jamie Trecker posted an interesting view on Cobi’s legacy. And Jonah Freedman actually let Cobi do this week’s World Power Rankings.