It has been such an eventful – and in the big picture, amazing – year for the Galaxy’s Robbie Rogers.
He came out. He got back into MLS. He landed close to home, part of a big talker of a trade, and was serving crosses to the top striking tandem in MLS at the moment, Landon Donovan and Robbie Keane.
So it’s a real bummer for Rogers that he’ll miss a few weeks, in his own estimation, after suffering a hamstring pull during last night’s CONCACAF Champions League win over Costa Rica’s Cartaginés.
“It’s really frustrating,” Rogers told reporters afterward. “And, obviously, things happen for a reason, but sometimes you ask, ‘What’s the lesson in this?’ I don’t know, just going to keep my head up, and hopefully the MRI isn’t too bad and I can continue training and do fitness and stuff like that. … I don’t think I’ll be out too long. I think maybe a few weeks.”
But at some point, the narrative of Rogers’ professional life needs to evolve anew. Meaning this: At some point, we have to stop framing all Robbie Rogers conversations around his brave February revelation. It’s a great story and important story, much bigger than the game, and no one should deny so.
But at some point the man’s sexuality needs to fade into the background. Rogers would probably agree, by the way; surely he’d love to move on, to be treated by fans and media like any other man earning a buck playing professional soccer.
So here goes:
Rogers’ absence will bother the Galaxy only marginally, if at all. It will hurt the team a bit in depth during a busy time that now includes a playoff push in a ridiculously tight Western Conference and CONCACAF Champions League contests.
But that’s about it. Rogers has one assist in nine matches for the Galaxy. He’s been OK in spots, but nothing to stop and tell the neighbors about if we’re being honest.
This, by the way, was the knock on Rogers’ during his previously MLS stay in Columbus; he always looked dangerous, with good technical ability and plenty of speed, but his ultimate production was generally nothing better than “just OK.”
Rogers missed the Galaxy’s last two matches, when the offense sprang to bright-eyed life. The Galaxy scored three times in Dallas (a 3-3 draw) and then pushed four past Real Salt Lake’s solid defense. Rogers wasn’t exactly missed in those breakout nights.
The Galaxy attack is all about Keane and Donovan; everything else is complementary, supporting parts.
In fairness, Rogers was out of the professional game for months, and his personal struggles (plus injuries) had diminished Rogers’ impact on the field for more than a year before that. So it’s fair to expect a period of re-adjustment. That’s why Galaxy officials were willing to make a trade that sent Mike Magee, now a leading contender for MLS Most Valuable Player, to Chicago. They gambled that Rogers’ long-term upside would put them on the plus side of this swap.
All that is fair in the discussion. But for now it’s also fair to say this: Rogers’ absence over the next few weeks, especially given the young talent in reserve on Bruce Arena’s roster, will not dent the Galaxy’s push for the playoffs through late-August and September.
