Star makes soccer balls for kids in Iraq his goal
Ivan Moreno, Rocky Mountain News
Published November 7, 2006 at midnight
LITTLETON - Major League Soccer star Cobi Jones didn't need to be uniform Monday to be recognized.
And eager young fans waiting for his autograph didn't even need to know his name to know the man in a dark suit was also the man they'd seen on television with his trademark dreadlocks and movie-star smile.
"At first I didn't know who he was and then I went, 'Now I remember him.' " said 9-year-old Mikayla Lopez, who plays for a Real Colorado youth team.
Jones, who has played more games for the U.S. national soccer team than any other player, is using his popularity for a good cause.
He has become the spokesman for "Little Feet, Big Goals," a campaign to send soccer balls to children in Iraq and Afghanistan.
"I don't think anything else can touch these kids like a soccer ball can," Jones said during a press conference at the Park Meadows Sports Authority store.
Beginning Monday, Sports Authority stores nationwide will feature Jones' picture on displays, asking customers to donate a soccer ball for $10. Organizers are hoping Jones' appeal will help.
"Even if you don't know his name, you can recognize the dreadlocks," said Steffan Tubbs, co-founder of the campaign and a KOA-AM (850) reporter.
The goal is to have 50,000 soccer balls by March to send overseas.
The idea came to Tubbs while he was on assignment in Iraq in March. He said he heard U.S. soldiers say they wanted to give soccer balls to children as a sign of good will.
For Jones, who plays for the Los Angeles Galaxy and is their all-time leading scorer, it was a video on the campaign's Web site that convinced him to join.
In the video, a Black Hawk helicopter drops a soccer ball into an Iraqi village and a boy runs after the ball then waves to the sky when he gets it.
"That's the image that pretty much sold me," Jones said. "It might be difficult for people in this country to understand but, yes, just a simple soccer ball can ignite dreams."
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