An American Hero and His Connection to the Beautiful Game
The year is 1997. A young Jeromi Rogers looks down from his seat at “The Horseshoe” to see a young Columbus Crew in action. He is there with his grandparents, long-time supporters of soccer and their favorite club, AS Roma. Admittedly he is part of a soccer family in a part of the country, Northeastern Ohio, where American football is king.
Almost 15 years later, the scene is repeated at Crew Stadium. But a lot has changed with both Rogers and the Crew. Rogers went from soccer to wrestling as a youngster before joining the Marine Corps after high school. After five years of service, including three tours of duty in Iraq, Rogers is a different man on a different path.
The Crew have transformed just as much, going from a fledgling franchise to a club with a soccer-specific stadium and hardware in the trophy case.
Rogers has always loved the beautiful game, having played until he was a teenager, when wrestling became his sport of choice. After high school, Rogers joined the Marines and would see his life go in different direction before coming right back to the sport of soccer.
Rogers would graduate boot camp at Parris Island in January 2005 before heading off to infantry school at Camp Geiger and security force training in Chesapeake, Virginia. He would eventually be assigned to a base in Bangor, Washington. There he would be called upon to guard high value installations, such as nuclear submarines and warheads.
Heading to the Pacific Northwest grew his love of soccer. He played in numerous rec leagues, enjoying pickup games, and just being part of a soccer crazy region.
“I loved living in a city where soccer meant something,” Rogers commented in an interview with ISNSoccer.com.
After 1 1/2 years in Washington, Rogers would report to Twentynine Palms, California before completing three tours in Iraq. As part of the U.S. effort to free Iraq from Saddam Hussein’s deadly regime, Rogers was stationed at Camp Ramadi. His first tour of 7 months consisted mainly of guarding the camp, while the second (7 months) and third tours (4 months) got him out with the Iraqi people on patrol in the areas surrounding the base.
He was forever changed by the Iraqi children, who regularly sought him out for candy, chocolate, or even the occassional soccer ball. These scenes would stay with him forever, marking a positive experience during his time in Iraq.
“The children were happy all the time, always friendly,” Rogers continued. “There was no hatred. They were full of life.” All of this despite living in a country that was all too familar with war and conflict.
By the end of his 3rd tour, he knew he had made a difference and could clearly see the positive changes in Ramadi and beyond.
Rogers would return time and time again to the game he loved, soccer. He would catch Crew games as he could while on leave before eventually leaving the Marines in the fall of 2009. By this time Rogers was an avid supporter of the Crew and EPL club Aston Villa. He would become a regular in the Nordecke after joining the Hudson Street Hooligans, one of the Crew’s biggest supporters’ groups. Rogers would be a vocal supporter, creating tifo displays and catching as many matches as humanly possible. In other words, Rogers became a permanent fixture at Crew Stadium.
He was quick to draw a difference between fan and supporter because the terms are sometimes confused.
A supporter is much more than a casual fan. Supporters are always there, while the casual fan might something else to do when the teams starts losing or is in financial trouble. A supporter doesn’t stop supporting their club regardless of decisions in the front office or how popular the team is in the community at that moment. Supporters are not “fair weather fans,” but rather are always looking out for their club. They wear their favorite club shirt under their suit at the office or are constantly on the lookout for the latest scores and news.
Being a Marine and a soccer supporter truly defines who Jeromi Rogers is as a person. He is a man of values and beliefs he learned in the Corps because you never really leave the Marines or really quit being a Marine. Semper fidelis is a motto Rogers lives by. He is “always faithful” to the his family, his club, and of course the Marine Corps.
“It’s something you have in your heart, no matter what,” Rogers concluded. It is a brotherhood and comradery that exists nowhere else in the U.S. military, a connection that transcends generations.
Rogers now turns his attention to his coursework at the University of Akron as he plots yet another course in his life, a new career. What will always remain constant is his love of the beautiful game and his pride in being a soldier, a Marine.
All of us here at ISN are proud to honor Jeromi’s service to his country, naming him the Pelé Sports Fan Ambassador for February 2012.
Pelé is unquestionably the world’s greatest soccer ambassador, spreading his love of the Beautiful Revolution wherever he goes. He has become the game’s strongest supporter and has been the source of inspiration for millions around the globe. From the streets of New York to the fields of South Africa, Pelé Sports is a name synonymous with passion, creativity and innovating the game the way it should be played. A world without Pelé would be a world without soccer with millions missing out on the joy and the Beautiful Revolution we all love in this game.
Today’s supporters carry on the prestigious legacy of Pelé, growing and promoting the game in their own communities and passing the torch to a new generation of footballers. Mainstream media outlets have failed to give a face to these fans, people who do extraordinary things everyday and have stories that deserve to be told.
Whether it is an Iraqi War veteran who is a passionate supporter of his favorite MLS side or a student making an impact on the college game, the concept of ambassadorship is alive and well here in North America. Today’s supporters are not hooligans or fanatics or even überfans, but rather gatekeepers to the true spirit of the beautiful game.
International Soccer Network, in conjunction with Pelé Sports, plans to celebrate the contributions of North American soccer fans every month with a new series of feature articles.
