At the SCORES Legacy Gala, 32 Years of Soccer Legacy Came Full Circle
In the summer of 1994, 3.6 million people packed American stadiums for the FIFA World Cup, sparking a tectonic shift in how this country understood the game. Later that year, a schoolteacher in DC channeled that shift into a free soccer and literacy program for lower-income kids and underserved schools. A quarter century ago, the Bay Area chapter of America SCORES was founded, helping to fuel a powerful wave from coast to coast.
This spring, those three stories came together at the SCORES Legacy Gala in San Jose. The gala was the largest and most ambitious event in America SCORES Bay Area’s 25-year history — a celebration of the 1994 U.S. Men's National Team, the soccer legacy they ignited, and the organization that has spent the past quarter-century turning that legacy into free soccer and poetry for nearly 7,000 Bay Area kids. Members of the '94 squad flew in from across the country. Front-office staff and volunteers from the original host committee filled the room. And three SCORES poet-athletes performed on the same stage as World Cup champions.
Coca-Cola and Airbnb were the Primary and Presenting Sponsors of the gala. Telemundo was the Media Sponsor. Corporate Partners included: Adidas, Del Grande Dealer Group, The Sak, Qatar Aspire Academy, Capelli, Imagine LLC, Bloomberg, Newcastle Partners, and Snowflake. Soccer and Community Partners were the San Jose Earthquakes, Silicon Valley Chamber of Commerce, Cal North Youth Soccer, US Youth Soccer, US Soccer Forward, Oakland Roots and Soul Foundation, The San Jose Sports Authority, The Bay Area Host Committee, and Bay FC
Members of the 1994 U.S. Men’s National Team
But before any of the tributes, a focus on the present. Santiago Corona, a fifth grader and SCORES Poet-Athlete from Watsonville, one of two winners of a national poetry contest hosted by Telemundo, stood confidently on the stage and performed his original winning poem to a room packed with more than 600 people. His dynamic, ballsy delivery simultaneously revved up the crowd and underscored the point: this night belongs to SCORES Poet-Athletes just as much as it belongs to the soccer legends.
“GOAL!” - SCORES Poet-Athlete Santiago Corona
“We have a legacy that started in 1994, that’s been building steam for 32 years and is continuing tonight.”
Taking the stage as ringmaster, SCORES Executive Director Colin Schmidt told the crowd that 32 years earlier, the Bay Area World Cup host committee gathered in the very same hotel, raising funds into the wee hours to powercharge the legacy of the game. “The money they raised is now the endowment for Bay Area SCORES–a million-dollar endowment that started by volunteers rolling up their sleeves, doing something good, and making something happen,” he said.
SCORES Executive DIrector Colin Schmidt
SCORES was born that same year, when a 22-year-old Washington, DC, schoolteacher named Julie Kennedy coached a team of girls at an under-resourced D.C. school. When the weather inevitably turned cold, they went inside and discovered the transformative power of poetry.
“That was the magic combination: the team experience of soccer, the physical activity, and poetry – playing with words and building individual confidence through creative and physical expression,” Schmidt said
Alan Rothenberg, who chaired the 1994 World Cup, stepped up next, explaining the legacy of that historic performance. A 50-million-dollar philanthropic gift from Atlanta United owner Arthur Blank launched the U.S. Soccer Federation, with the explicit purpose to, among other things, expand and develop women’s and grassroots soccer programs across the country. “That money has provided fields and many pitches in underserved communities, and that’s a tangible part of what America SCORES does,” said Rothenberg, adding, “What we’re doing for young people and in particular, young people from underserved communities, is as good a legacy as you could ever ask for. You represent the best not only of soccer, but of America.”
Alan Rothenberg, Chair of 1994 World Cup
Dean Linke, press secretary for the '94 team and a longtime broadcaster, called the players up one by one: Mike Burns, Clay Colin, Joe Max Moore, Hugo Perez, Jurgen Sommer, Eric Winalda, Marcelo Balboa, Paul Calijuri, Thomas Dooley, Coby Jones, Alexi Lalas. Staff followed — coaches, trainers, the medical team, the equipment manager, and the front desk administrator from Mission Viejo, who kept the training center running.
Alexi Lalas, who carved out a career in broadcasting after his dynamic time with the 1994 Men’s National Team, reflected on the accomplishments of the 94 squad. "Don't let anybody tell you that America is not a soccer nation, that America is not a soccer culture. 2026 is not just going to be the biggest World Cup in history, but the biggest cultural event in history, a celebration of what we are as a soccer-playing nation." Lalas’ own connection to SCORES runs deep. His mother served as a board member of the first America SCORES in DC, with Julie Kennedy. “My mom’s a poet and an OG soccer mom. SCORES was right in her wheelhouse, and she’s been involved ever since, helping to change the lives of young boys and girls.”
Alexi Lalas , 1994 U.S. Men’s National Team player and two-time Olympian
Two-time World Cup champion and Olympic gold medalist Brandi Chastain, who has worked with SCORES in Chicago, DC, and the Bay Area, joined Lalas on stage and traced the line from 1994 directly to the SCORES Poet Athletes of 2026. She described being inspired by the poetry component of SCORES and a five-page poem she wrote in the middle of the night before a World Cup game in China, which she read to her teammates at breakfast. “Soccer has gifted me everything,” Chastain said, “an extended family, friends, the ability to travel around the world, to use soccer as a vehicle to learning how to write poetry. It’s taught me how to meet people where they are and to learn new cultures.”
Two-time World Cup champion and Olympic gold medalist Brandi Chastain
“Soccer has become a vehicle for change.”
Chastain welcomed two young SCORES Poet-Athletes to the stage, Emiley Ro Santiago and Heyzell Maldonado.
Emiley, the second national Telemundo poetry contest winner, had flown in from New York that morning. She performed her bilingual poem, "Every Second Counts."
"Every second cuenta, keep your eye on the ballon. Every second cuenta — it's not just un juego. Every second cuenta, run, run, fuego. Every second cuenta with heart and passion."
Heyzell, a fourth-grader from San Rafael, followed in Spanish, her poem drawing a line from goalkeeper to warrior to the World Cup itself.
"These are kids from all over the place," Schmidt said. "Many are English language learners. But allowing them to express themselves in whatever language — English, Spanish, or both — this is part of the program. And that's really what it's about: gaining that confidence."
A gala video introduced the crowd to Bridget Marin-Valencia, a SCORES alumna now playing for UCLA and the Mexican National Team. Once bullied, SCORES gave her a team and an outlet for her voice.
"There's a problem here,” Schmidt said. “Call it pay to play, call it barriers to access. So if it's not for programs like SCORES doing soccer for good and opening those doors, it doesn't happen. We don't have a Bridget, we don't have a Santiago, we don't have the jerseys and the high fives and the game days and all that joyful experience that soccer can bring. SCORES is creating these real-life experiences, real words, real games, real high fives, and real smiles.”
The auction and paddle raise that followed brought it to a close — Lalas, Coby Jones, and Marcelo Balboa working the room personally, donations coming in at multiple levels.
America SCORES Bay Area serves nearly 7,000 students across more than 170 Bay Area public schools, providing free soccer, poetry, and community service-learning at no cost to families. To support ASBA's work, visit americascoresbayarea.org/donate.