Q&A with Jimmy Conrad

KCWizards.com: Jimmy Conrad, talk to me about your favorite sport growing up other than soccer.

Jimmy Conrad: Basketball.

KCW: Were you good?

JC: Well, in my own mind, I thought I was good.

KCW: How long did you play? When did you stop?

JC: I stopped playing in eighth grade just because in the high school season in California, basketball and soccer played at the same time. I tried to, I think my freshman or sophomore year, see if the coach would let me do both, but that wasn't going to happen. I will say, though, in my area, I was the first guy to wear black shoes and high tops when I was in eighth grade, and everybody made fun of me. They weren't actually basketball shoes-they were skateboarding shoes, black Airwalks, and people made fun of me. But look what happened.

KCW: Tell the fans what you like to do in your free time. I know you have a little baby now, and I know you do some writing. What other hobbies do you have on the side?

JC: I like to read. I like to read quite a bit when I have free time. I try to catch up on whatever the hot novel is, but my interest lie more in the nonfiction. I just wrote a book called "Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln," which I thought was an incredible book. I actually think Spielberg's going to option it for a movie, so I'm pretty excited to see how they adapt it or how it translates to the screen. So, you know, I like to read a lot and more often than not and also just hang out with my family.

KCW: How about movies, you have any particular genre you like? Do you like movies at all?

JC: Yeah, I love movies. Some of my favorites are Big Lebowski, Rushmore, Cable Guy. You know, ones that are probably better movies on repeat viewings. Those are the ones I seem to enjoy more. I just think there's more depth there. Obviously, Dumb and Dumber is a classic, you know. So, I'm a big movie buff. I enjoy all kinds of movies. I just saw No Country for Old Men recently. I thought that was an excellent movie. It's tough when you have a baby to go out and see all the latest and greatest, so I kind of just resort to my collection. Right now, I've been watching a lot of Arrested Development, which is a classic show, and my wife and I are big fans of Lost.

KCW: How about music, what do you like to listen to?

JC: I think it's been well documented that I'm a big fan of Interpol. We were fortunate that when we went down to Buenos Aires they played down there, so that was pretty exciting for me. I took a couple of the guys with me. You know, I like all genres. Right at the moment, I'm listening to the greatest hits of Sesame Street with my little girl in the car. "C is for Cookie," that's my favorite right now.

KCW: What MLS team do you most like to defeat?

JC: All MLS teams are the ones that I like to defeat. The ones that give me a special feeling inside, that warm, fuzzy feeling inside, would be...there's something about beating D.C. that's always fun. Actually, any team in the East, but I really do enjoy beating all the teams in MLS.

KCW: Jimmy Conrad, what is your number one soccer memory of your lifetime at any level?

JC: Actually, I averaged a hat trick a game when I was like eight, so that was pretty exciting. I was on the Blues Brothers, and we went 12-0, so I scored 36 goals. Pretty sweet. Yeah, that was pretty exciting. My dad still talks about that season. But, obviously, the best one, just to be named to the World Cup team. That's something you work for for a long time, and when it finally happened, it was a special feeling just because of all the people that believed in me all along the way. It gave them validation that I was pretty good.

KCW: Thank you, Jimmy, the fans appreciate this insight into the inner workings of your mind.

JC: Well, that's what I'm here for. I try to express myself as best I can. If they could see me now, I've only got a towel on.