actually, 27 if you count three minutes of stoppage time.
Regardless what he accomplishes in soccer, Butler will be known as one of those one game wonders in MLS history, players whose MLS career lasted all of one game. Entering this season, more than four dozen players held that distinction.
Many played the final minutes and didn't really make a difference.
But Butler's impact was more than replacing MetroStars forward Martin Klinger in the 66th minute of the July 4, 2001 match with the Tampa Bay Mutiny.
Despite his surprising success, Butler never saw another minute of MLS action.
A native of Springfield, Mass., Butler had played in USL, first with the Western Mass Pioneers then with the Pittsburgh and Hershey of the A-League before finding his way to the Long Island Rough Riders. He was drafted in the first round of the 1999 MLS supplemental draft by the Columbus Crew. Butler didn't stick with the team, but he acknowledged by training with the Crew certainly helped in his preparation with the MetroStars.
When he was called into the big club, the Rough Riders were affiliated with the MetroStars. After Clint Mathis went down with a season-ending knee injury in June 2001, the forwards went through a spate of injuries up front and called up Butler on an emergency basis.
"At that point I was having a very good season with the Rough Riders," Butler said last week. "It was rewarding to have that type of season and get rewards for it."
Butler admitted he wasn't expecting to see much action.
"You know what? You want to play, you're waiting to get called to play. But more than likely you won't," he said. "You have to be prepared mentally and more importantly to physically play and know your role."
But on July 4, Butler got his opportunity. The Metros had entered the game with a seven-game road winless streak.
The Mutiny, on the way to a league-worst 4-21-2 record that season, grabbed the lead on a Mamadou Diallo goal in the 27th minute.
"It was the Fourth of July and very hot in Tampa," Butler said. "The worst thing was that it was hot and you would have to play overtime if it was tied.
"The interesting thing was the team morale at the time. They hadn't won on the road in seven games. After Tampa Bay scored, it was, 'Boy, it's happening all over again.'"
With 24 minutes remaining in regulation, coach Octavio Zambrano pulled Martin Klinger and decided to see what Butler could do.
"I tried to stir things up, put some pressure on the defense," Butler said.
He thought, "What can I do as a forward to put myself in the best possible position to score goal?"
Three minutes into stoppage time, Butler did just that. First, the MetroStars equalized on a Bill Walsh goal off a feed by midfielder Daniel Hernandez in the 85th minute.
Minutes later Hernandez broke down the wing toward the penalty area.
"Daniel Hernandez, who is an excellent crosser, swung one in," Butler said. "Two games on the bench, I tried to read the players out there. It was pretty much on target.
"The goalkeeper was 6-feet-3-inches or 6-4 and I'm 5-9. I knew I couldn't go to the back post. I watched the ball, snapped and put it into the smallest possible hole past the goalkeeper ... in between his hand and his foot."
And inside the near post.
"My reaction was to clench my fist, go back to my teammates and let's finish the game," Butler said.
There was no big celebration.
"If you jump into the crowd at Tampa Bay, they might not throw you back," he joked.
Seconds later, referee Gerry Corrie blew his whistle twice to signify the end of the match.
As he went into the MetroStars locker room, Butler was embraced by his teammates.
"My play might have been off and on, but they said, 'Great job. You scored a goal,'" he said. "What more can you ask?"
Ironically, Butler's goal led to the resignation of Mutiny coach Alfonso Mondelo, a former Rough Riders coach, a day later. Butler joined the Rough Riders after Mondelo departed after the 1997 season.
Butler was with the MetroStars for six games, but never saw another minute of action. He said he wasn't bitter.
"I took it in stride," he said. "I didn't look too far into it. I had a good performance. I looked at it as one game at a time and enjoy the moment.
"I was looking forward to the next three, four games, but never got a chance to go in."
The MetroStars seemed to capture their road confidence. They played at the first-place Miami Fusion three days later.
"They were the team to beat," Bulter and, "we steamrolled them 3-0. That goal or win helped that team's morale and we started to win the away games and eventually made the playoffs.
"That was more important than getting minutes in the next game and the next game."
Butler had a cup of coffee with the Rough Riders in 2004, but the demands of and his commitment to his new enterprise as the founder and director of the 5 Star Soccer Academy was a conflict. His academy trains youth players and teams through clinics and camps throughout Long Island.
"I have a great time doing it," he said.
He is only 29 and would like to get back into playing when the time is right. Butler, who plays amateur soccer with Bridgeport International (formerly the Bridgeport Italians), wants to establish his company more before making another commitment at the pro level.
"When I have more time with full-time soccer, I'll go back to playing," he said.
But most likely whatever Butler does, he will be hard pressed to duplicate his incredible 24 minutes of fame.
Michael Lewis writes about soccer for the New York Daily News and is editor of BigAppleSoccer.com. He has covered MLS since its inception. He can be reached at SoccerWriter516@aol.com. Lewis will only answer e-mails and letters that have names or are signed. Views and opinions expressed in this column are the author's, and not necessarily those of Major League Soccer or MLSnet.com.
