New England Revolution captain Steve Ralston was scheduled to fly up to Toronto on Monday. Until he couldn't find his passport.
Ralston recently moved to a new house. With the mess of moving things from one place to another, his safely stowed passport somehow got lost in the shuffle.
He found his wife's passport and his children's passport, but he could not find his own. So instead of a flight out of Logan International Airport with the rest of the Revolution delegation, Ralston drove up to Toronto with his wife and children.
"I think my wife hid it so I could drive up with them," Ralston said with a smile.
No matter the method of transport, Ralston will participate in his fifth MLS All-Star Game Thursday night at BMO Field under the watchful eye of friends and family and alongside teammates Shalrie Joseph and Matt Reis. Ralston was selected to two other games, but did not play in either.
Back when Ralston made his previous four appearances, the game was a division of MLS stars, whether East versus West or USA versus the world. It's different now, a more competitive match against a vaunted English Premier League side in front of a sold-out BMO Field in front of the league's most raucous fans.
Ralston said he never could have dreamed these continued opportunities at the highest level when he started in the league 13 years ago.
Once a college star at Florida International University and hoping to make a career in the league, Ralston has played in World Cup qualifiers and MLS Cups and now has a chance to play in the same side as established world stars like David Beckham and Cuauhtemoc Blanco.
"Playing alongside these guys is a little bit surreal," Ralston said.
Those opportunities come because of his other teammates, who Ralston said he wishes could make the trip because of their contributions, and because of his ability to use the savvy he has acquired over the past 13 seasons to continue to impact the game even as his position evolves.
"I think he uses his experience," Revolution head coach Steve Nicol said. "He's always had a good touch on the ball, he's always been able to pass the ball and he was always out wide. We use him in a more central role because we feel that he's somebody that can come the final third he can pick that pass out or put the ball in the net. This season and the second part of last season, he's been doing that."
Nicol, while underscoring Ralston's importance to the team, believes those three players are just a part of the team's continued success.
"He's certainly a very important player for us, but we kind of like to think that everybody had the same importance to the team," Nicol said. "It takes more than a couple of guys to win games. Certainly so far we've had all 11 who have been on the field contributing and making sure we've had the points that we've had."
Contributing: Dylan Butler
Kyle McCarthy and Dylan Butler are contributers to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
