TORONTO ā Heās been one of the most promising forwards in American soccer history, but it has taken Colorado Rapids forward Conor Casey a decade to reach the pinnacle of his sport.
āItās amazing to win,ā Casey said. āIāve been promoted from second to the first division and it feels like winning. But to actually have something, a medal that says youāre the best, it feels really good and itās something I wasnāt sure that Iād ever get to do.ā
The Colorado native was voted MLS Cup MVP for his battling performance on Sunday against FC Dallas. After three seasons of double-digit goals and an MLS Cup MVP, he is arguably one of the most consistent American forwards in circulation.
But after failing to get a shot to make the US World Cup team ā he was not even called up to the 30-man preliminary squad ā fans will not get to see the 29-year-old with the national team.
Even after winning his first ever title on Sunday, Casey reiterated that the national team is a thing of the past for him.
[inlinenode:323912]āI havenāt thought about the national team at all since the World Cup was over,ā he said. āAnd Iām not going to think about it again. Iām just thinking about this team [Rapids].ā
Casey was subdued as he sat in front of his locker with his MLS Cup medal hanging around his neck.
At one point he turned to strike partner Omar Cummings and uttered the words āweāre the champions, weāre the champs,ā almost trying to convince himself that it has finally happened for him after 10 long years.
āAfter the last couple of years of not making the playoffs, you feel far away [from an MLS Cup] and especially in this league when you have so many teams that are so even.
āWe knew this was a big chance for us to be here and we didnāt want to let it go and we just battled. It wasnāt pretty. But we didnāt care and we just fought.ā
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