CARSON, Calif. – When Todd Dunivant goes to Colorado for Saturday’s LA Galaxy match against the Rapids, he will do so as a hall-of-famer.
Earlier this month, Dunivant returned to the Centennial State and was inducted into the Colorado Rush Hall of Fame. A native of Wheat Ridge, Colo., Dunivant was a standout for the Rush, a powerhouse youth club, and was honored with a spot in the team’s hall of fame during a ceremony in Denver on June 7.
Read: Dunivant Inducted into Hall of Fame
“It was a special night for me,” Dunivant said. “You go back and you don’t know exactly how those kinds of things go but they did a real good job.”
The Colorado Rush have sent scores of alumni off to college soccer and some to Major League Soccer. MLS players such as Conor Casey of the Rapids (who is also in the Rush Hall of Fame), Collen Warner and Chris Schuler of Real Salt Lake as well as James Riley of the Seattle Sounders played for the Rush as youth players.
During the ceremony, the Rush played a video that included highlights from Dunivant’s career, including clips of goals he scored against Seattle and Real Madrid, as well as pictures from Dunivant’s childhood, and Dunivant gave a 15-minute speech. In attendance were other Rush Hall-of-Famers, including Casey and Dunivant’s former coach, Dave Dengerink.
“It was a really neat. It was tough to hold back the emotions and then showing the video and having my family there, it was a special night,” he said.
Dunivant, who went to Stanford after his Rush playing days, said his fondest memory from his Rush playing days was winning the U-14 state cup. Dunivant’s U-12 squad had lost in the semifinals and for two years, his team prepared for and went after the U-14 title. In the final, the Rush played rivals Colorado Foxes.
“Still to this day I’ve never been more nervous before a game than that U-14 state cup,” Dunivant said.
The Rush won, though, and Dunivant received an award of a lifetime afterwards.
“I got a king-sized Snickers bar after a game and that was the best trophy I ever had,” he said. “It doesn’t take much to please me.”
Dunivant is enjoying another fine season with the Galaxy. Dunivant is the only Galaxy player to have played every minute of every game this season, and leads the league in minutes played this year. He has quietly been the rock that holds the Galaxy’s defense together and has two assists to boot.
Read: Dunivant reaches milestone, plays in 200th MLS game
So quiet has Dunivant been, he was left off the All-Star Ballot as six teammates were selected ahead of him.
“When I saw the format, I wasn’t too surprised,” Dunivant said. “The system is what it is, there’s not much I can do about it.”
Something else he can’t do much about is something he did well to deal with as a youth – the altitude in his home state.
And when he goes back to Colorado for Saturday’s match, he will surely feel it.
“I used to be tougher but now when I go back, I feel it like everyone else,” he said. “Growing up I thought it was a myth but I was always used to it but going out of it and then going back to Colorado, man, it hits you like a ton of bricks. You do notice it.”
Join fellow Galaxy fans this Saturday at OBs Pub & Grill in Manhattan Beach when the Galaxy face the Colorado Rapids at 6 p.m. PT. That game will be shown on tape delay at 8 p.m. PT on FOX Sports West, or fans can follow live at lagalaxy.com/gamedaylive with play-by-play by Joe Tutino and a live chat, or Twitter @LAGalaxy and Facebook.com/LAGalaxy.
