In a profile last week of new Seattle Sounders forward Will Bruin, he discussed his struggles in his final year in Houston and what he’s looking forward to the most about starting his tenure with the Rave Green.
But there’s much more to Bruin than could fit in one article. Here are some of the best outtakes from that piece:
He went joy riding on a football team golf cart at Indiana
Bruin and IU goalkeeper Luis Soffner exited a team dinner one night and noticed the golf cart sitting unattended. All the golf carts in Bloomington for the football team are E-Z GO brand, and Soffner, who coincidentally worked at a golf course in high school, still owned an E-Z GO master key.
“We thought it would be a good idea to take one and ride it around campus,” Bruin said laughing.
A football manager saw Bruin and Soffner driving the cart and alerted Campus Police, who pulled them over. Bill Lynch was the football coach at the time and had to call IU soccer coach Mike Freitag to let him know what happened.
“[Lynch] just said, ‘Don’t be idiots, and don’t do it again,’” Bruin recalled. It was a slap on the wrist, but it was a really fun 15-20 minutes.”
He used to drive a 2002 Ford Windstar minivan
Bruin’s parents gave him a car when he went to college, but it just so happened to be an old minivan, one which Bruin claims he “drove with style.”
He drove it everywhere while at IU, but made the mistake of having it shipped to Houston after he was drafted.
“I drove it practice for about a few days, but I got crushed by all the older guys, so I got rid of it ASAP and got a Jeep.”
He’s a big country music fan
A small-town Missouri boy at heart, Bruin embraces his country roots. His favorite two artists are Eric Church and Brantley Gilbert.
“I remember in high school, I used to listen to hard rock, but then I went to country, and that was kind of a [180] and I’ve been country ever since,” Bruin said.
He played on a ridiculously athletic high school basketball team
Bruin was the starting shooting guard on a team littered with future Division I athletes. His senior year, his high school’s center was a 7-footer who played basketball at Virginia. The team’s two forwards were both 6-foot-6, one of whom played wide receiver at Missouri and the other tight end at Iowa State. The point guard went on to play corner back at Missouri.
“I was just a soccer player who could shoot the rock a little better than everybody else,” Bruin said.
On what he thinks of new teammate and fellow forward Jordan Morris:
“I never like to compare people, but he kind of reminds me of me when I was younger. The energy and the willingness to get forward and the willingness to do dirty work just for the good sake of the team. Everybody needs someone like that.”
On playing with former United States national teammate Brad Evans:
“He is a character. Me and him got along pretty well at the Gold Cup.”
On going to back-to-back MLS Cups in 2011-12:
“It was my first two years, so I was kind of just taking it all in. I look back and reflect on it, and it’s something that would be awesome to do now that I’m older and can appreciate it a lot more.
“When I was younger, I thought ‘Is this what it’s always like? We just go to MLS Cup?’ That was something I wish I would have appreciated a lot more, but that just comes with growing up.”
