Ep 85: Sporting KC's Roger Espinoza and his American Dream origin story

GOOOOOOOOOOoooooaaaaaaaaaaaaaalllllllllllllll!

Episode 85 of the podcast takes us onto the soccer pitch for the very first time. Roger Espinoza of Sporting Kansas City sits down to share his version of the American Dream. Originally from Honduras, Espinoza shares a truly amazing story of coming to the United States, playing at the highest levels, and living out his dreams.

Tim and Roger talk about how Roger moved to Colorado from Honduras when he was 12 years old. Their conversation takes them through Roger’s dad coming to America, waiting over a decade to be able to bring his family along, and how playing soccer and living in America created special opportunities for Roger.

“I am not that fast, I am not that skillful… I’m gonna to stick to who I am.”

Espinoza’s career has taken a few of those special, almost unbelievable, Moonlight-esque twists. After moving to Denver and graduating from high school, Espinoza went to Yavapai College in Arizona. After two successful years there, he played one year of semi-pro and then went to Ohio State University. Espinoza set the Big Ten on fire and warned several homies, including being named All Big Ten. He left Ohio State after one year and was drafted by Sporting KC in 2008. Espinoza also played for Wigan Athletics in the English Premier League, which is considered the best soccer league in the world. Among his career highlights, Espinoza shares some of his favorite memories as a member of the Honduras national team in 2010 and 2014.

This week’s interview walks through Espinoza’s life and career in the Big Ten, the Premier League, and the World Cup as well as his views on American football and other sports. Though this is our first soccer interview, Moonlighters will identify with Roger Espinoza’s passion for competition and stories from the highest levels of sports.