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Gary Sullivan: A Bright Beginning(4/13/2004) He was undoubtedly the biggest surprise starter for the Colorado Rapids in their season opener in Dallas last weekend. However, nobody was more surprised to see Gary Sullivan in Tim Hankinson’s Starting XI at the Cotton Bowl than Gary Sullivan himself. After being drafted in the fifth round out of tiny Adelphi University on Long Island, Sullivan prepared himself for the tough task of simply making the Rapids’ 24-man roster. “I thought that just getting drafted meant that I was on the team, so I was pretty excited,” said the rookie defender who is commonly called Sully. “But then I found out that in reality, that means nothing, it’s just another invite to camp and another step along the way to signing a contract. So at that point I just concentrated on making the team, and then from there I began to work to try and make (the 16-man) traveling squad. But no way did I ever think that I would start this early.” The 22-year old central defender readily admits that, after years of being a star on the many teams he has played for, he was not prepared for the brutal reality that is MLS. He struggled in his first practices with his new club as the fear of being cut was affecting his play. But after making it through those first two weeks in Westminster, Sullivan could feel himself beginning to settle in. “Preseason, I have to say, was probably the most stressful month of my life, seeing how I didn’t know where I stood,” Sullivan reflected. “The first couple weeks in Denver I was just concerned about making the roster, but once the games started, and we went to Florida and Spain, I felt that I was able to fit in a little more and become more of a contributor.” Despite seeing a lion’s share of the minutes in central defense in both Florida and Spain with fellow center back Pablo Mastroeni either injured or away on National Team duty, Sullivan never forgot how hard he had worked to get to that point, and did not take for granted the opportunity that was being allotted to him. But with that opportunity came added pressure; pressure that came primarily from the larger crowds, something that this small town New York kid had never experienced. “Coming from Adelphi, I had never played in front of 200 people, let alone a couple thousand,” he quipped. “The game in San Antonio and then this one, it was just amazing to play in front of that many people. It is a little crazy to think of at first, but then you get it in your head that it’s just another game and you begin to relax a little bit.” Perhaps the biggest asset in helping Sullivan deal with the immensity of all that was going on around him was his partner in central defense, Nat Borchers. One year ago Borchers was in the same position that Sullivan currently finds himself after signing with the Rapids as an undrafted rookie out of the University of Denver. “It’s funny that you should ask that,” Sullivan quipped when asked if Borchers had any words of wisdom for him prior to the match. “Before the game we were walking out together when they were announcing the teams and I said to him ‘Nat, this is amazing, you went through this exact same thing last year.’ And he gave me a lot of confidence, he said to me ‘you know what buddy, just go out there and do your thing, you’re here for a reason, just keep doing what you’ve been doing and you’ll be fine.’” “I think that when you are out there and you feel comfortable, it makes the game so much easier and playing beside someone that you are comfortable with, like I am with Nat definitely makes it easier for you out there,” Sullivan added. The comfort level between Sullivan and Borchers was evident from the start as the rookie hardly put a foot wrong as the Rapids fought bravely to earn a point in a 1-1 draw against the new look Dallas Burn in the season opener. “Being on the road and getting a point like that isn’t bad, especially in a game like that,” Sullivan said. “We didn’t play our best soccer, but every guy individually dug deep and fought well for us and battled to help us get that point.” “Personally, I think that I made some rookie mistakes, and have some things that I have to work on, but overall it was a positive game for me, I know that I can play with these guys and I now I just want to show that I can get better as a player and improve upon the things that I need to improve on.” Making Sullivan’s strong showing all that more impressive was the fact that he was informed of his spot in the lineup less than an hour before kickoff. “I had an idea that I might play on Friday because of Pablo’s injury, but it was a gametime decision all the way,” said Sullivan. “It was probably about 45 minutes before kickoff that I found out that it was a definite start, and from that point on it was all pretty overwhelming.” But now with his professional debut behind him, Sullivan is more eager than ever to make an impact with the Rapids and help his club reach new heights and achieve the ultimate goal of winning the MLS Cup in 2004. “Obviously it was great to get out there, and it was like a little tease of what could come,” Sully said. “All athletes are competitors, and we’re competing against the other team, but we’re also competing for spots on this team. Obviously I’d love to start all season, but with Pablo coming back, that’s going to be tough. So I just have to set my sights on helping out this team whenever I can and filling in whenever I’m called upon, and for my rookie season I’d be happy with that…especially if it helps us win a championship.” | ||
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