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By Martin Rogers
Game-worn jerseys are the gold dust of the soccer collectibles world. Players rush to trade them at the end of matches, especially in major tournaments like the World Cup or Champions League.
Overly keen young professionals have sometimes irked more senior colleagues by rushing over-enthusiastically (especially post-defeat) to switch with a particularly esteemed opponent. On occasion, Lionel Messi is surrounded by rivals wishing to get his shirt the moment the final whistle sounds.
Sometimes the items are taken home and reside in a frame on the receiving player’s wall. And sometimes, they don’t. Which is how, via a roundabout route that took nearly two decades and involved a detour to a Chicago basement, my wife ended up wearing an Abby Wambach jersey ... on her face.
ABOVE: Game-worn U.S. Soccer jerseys were used to create masks for frontline workers.
When both domestic and international soccer came to a halt during the earliest ravages of COVD-19, U.S. Soccer decided to use the time for a bit of spring cleaning. The national governing body operates out of a 19th century former mansion on Chicago’s Prairie Avenue and its overstocked basement was overdue for a clear-out.
Among various bits of equipment and paraphernalia, workers found a treasure trove of old USA jerseys, used in matches as prestigious and significant as World Cup and Olympic qualifiers and featuring some of the most iconic names in the sport’s American history.
U.S. Soccer chiefs considered donating them, but instead came across an idea that would ultimately have greater reach. They partnered with Chicago-based school teacher Melizabeth Santos, who was using her sewing skills to create masks when she realized there was a shortage during the late spring and early summer.
The federation turned over the jerseys to Santos, to be repurposed into 500 masks that would be gifted to frontline workers.
ABOVE: Chicago-based school teacher Melizabeth Santos displays a mask she created from game-worn U.S. Soccer jerseys, which were gifted to frontline workers. Photo Credit: isiphotos.com.
"I felt a calling to help, especially when the CDC suggested that masks really do mitigate the health risk but all the factories were closed and masks were in need," Santos said in an interview with Yahoo Sports. "Every single one of them is different — they’re all unique pieces. That was the fun part for me, trying to figure out how to make these look cool."
That is how my wife, Dr. Caroline Chen-Rogers, a resident family medicine physician at PIH Health Downey Hospital in Los Angeles County and a devoted U.S. national team fan, ended up with a portion of Wambach’s uniform in reimagined form.
And how Dr. Tony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, was spotted with a mask from material previously worn by U.S. soccer legend Cobi Jones, who played a record 164 times for the men’s team.
ABOVE: Dr. Tony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, poses with a mask that was created from a jersey previously worn by U.S. soccer legend Cobi Jones. Photo Credit: isiphotos.com.
"I have had pride representing my country and every single jersey was unique and special," Jones said. "To have some of them put back into use in such a positive and meaningful way is something special. It sits in a very good place in my heart.
"When I was looking at my phone and saw some things coming over social media that I was tagged in, I saw that Dr. Fauci was actually wearing the mask. I can’t tell you how many people were texting me and talking about it. It shows U.S. Soccer is talking to the right people and helping to make a contribution."
Forgive me (she may not) for including my wife in the story, but it’s not often you get to use dinner table conversation as part of your writing profession. Dr. Chen-Rogers received the item from U.S. Soccer physician Dr. George Chiampas, with the mask accompanied by a letter specifying Wambach’s item as the one used in making it.
ABOVE: Dr. Caroline Chen-Rogers, a resident family medicine physician at PIH Health Downey Hospital in Los Angeles County, wears a mask made from U.S. Soccer standout Abby Wambach’s game jersey. Photo Credit: Herschel Espiritu.
"The women’s team especially have been a great source of inspiration and I was lucky enough to watch them during their successful World Cup campaign in Canada in 2015," she said. "It is very neat to have a jersey as a mask. To know where it came from and that belonged to such a strong figure as Abby makes it even better.
"The pandemic has been going on a long time now and people are getting tired of all the precautions. But it is vital that people still take it seriously and are vigilant about wearing masks."
Among others to receive masks were former women’s team star Rachel Van Hollebeke (nee Buehler) and 2009 Major League Soccer champion Robbie Russell, both of whom became practicing physicians at the end of their playing careers.
In addition to Wambach and Jones, other notables such as current men’s team head coach Gregg Berhalter and FOX Sports soccer analyst Heather O’Reilly saw their jerseys used. Among the shirts discovered were also some from players who long ago fell off the national team radar, such as businessman Mark Lisi, who retired from soccer 14 years ago and never actually played for the U.S. team.
ABOVE: United States Men's National Soccer Team coach Gregg Berhalter wears a mask created from a game-worn jersey. Photo Credit: isiphotos.com.
According to SBI Soccer, Lisi recently received a package including three masks from a jersey that was made for him in 2001, before a friendly game against South Korea. Lisi had been called into camp but did not play in the match, although a jersey was made for him in case he was used.
Judging by the social media response, the masks sent out around the country were warmly received by the doctors, nurses and other frontline professionals. Yet the level of excitement was certainly replicated by the former players, including Jones.
"These are unique pieces of equipment," Jones added. "It is fantastic for some of those players from back in the day to have the feeling that they are helping with the current circumstances that are going on."
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