Glory - Colorado Rapids

 

A little over a year ago Dave Wegner, Grand Poobah of C38, reached out to me for some help on a project the Front Office was working on.  The Rapids had reached out to Glory Studio after seeing their work on their San Diego Loyal edition a couple of years earlier.  Glory went to work on putting together a edition on the Colorado Rapids to celebrate the club's 30th season and they wanted to not only talk to the club but also the supporters. Dave thought I could help with some of the history of both the club and the fans.

After a couple of early-morning conferences (Glory is UK based) they arranged a week to come out and see everything.  That was the week of the Charlotte game last March.  They joined up with the C38 crew at the Celtic, took the buses out to the Dick, enjoyed the tailgate, and got some pics in and around the stadium before, during, and after the game.  They spent the rest of the week interviewing people associated with the club, both past and present, and getting more pics around the area.

Then, silence.  Originally we had been told the target was to release last summer.  When I didn't hear anything I assumed the project had been cancelled.  Instead it turns out they held it until the kickoff of our 30th anniversary season and they were available at the opening game.

This is a great look at the history of the club.  Its 268 pages of pictures, stories, and memories, covering everything from the inaugural game up through the ups and downs of the Chris Armas years.  It hits all the obvious highlights like MLS Cup 2010 and winning the West in 2021, but it also covers things that are important to us as Rapids fans, like the Rocky Mountain Cup and the Unified Team.  It takes time to mention two big local losses, Colin Clark and Joan Dobrzynski.

There are a ton of pictures as well, from fans to in-game photos, to looks at our jersey history.  They highlight the names from our history every MLS fan knows, 'Chelo, Pablo, Howard, but also guys that became important to Rapids fans like Cookie and the Ginger Ninja.  There's even a section on El Pibe in both English and Spanish.  It even finishes with a set of club stats including our longest undefeated streak in 2016.

You can pick it up from the club shop for $30, $24 with season-ticket holder discount.  You can also order it directly from the Glory website but with the exchange rate, shipping, and potential tariffs you'll do better finding somebody to get you one from the club.

I started this off talking about my involvement, but my involvement was minor compared to the grand scheme.  Beyond the people at the club (past and present) C38 and Mile High Lokos members Dave Wegner, Mason Andrade, Miguel Sifuentes were called out along with me for thanks and I think they all deserved it more than I did.  Apparently it was quite a party bus ride!