It’s Bouna Time!

By: Clint | April 17th, 2007

So says the official Rapids site, and really, who am I to doubt them? In the two games this season, Bouna has played at a higher level than I expected and is showing aggression mixed with reflexes and bravery that seems to define America’s strongest position in the footballing world. Bouna has looked (to me, at least) like a skinny mixture of David James and Fabien Barthez at times. Now they may sound like scary comparisons, but hopefully he’ll be able to grow into their better aspects and evade some of the more hilarious moments those two have had. The Colorado Rapids official site has a 20 Questions style interview with the first team keeper who has Zach eating mini-donuts for the reserve team.

On top of his energetic and entertaining style, however, Bouna lives a not-so-typical life for an athlete playing in America. In this Denver Post article, his adherence to Islam, his simple lifestyle, and his Senegalese childhood are three of many interesting topics that come up. Other highlights include:

He recently married a West African woman whom he hasn’t seen in four months.
He rarely goes out, instead he spends his time eating, practicing, and praying.
He grew up near Dakar, but also lived in a desert village in the middle of Senegal.
His father has three wives.
He was sent to live with two half-brothers in the Bronx when he was 14 and learned English by watching cartoons.
As the first team keeper he is making $30,000/year. If that doesn’t make it clear why MLS is still a very poor quality league, I don’t know what will. If Bouna continues to play well this season, I hope a Deportivo or Rangers type team comes along and offers him a million a season.

Colorado can be a excellent team this season with players like Bouna and Herculez (two goals in two games!) but the good times wont last if MLS doesn’t allow these players to make more than they can make working at Burger King. Better players can make better teams. And better teams can make the league more attractive to fans, TV networks, and sponsors. Letting an exodus of good to great players leave for Europe isn’t going to help grow the league one bit (and overspending for ‘on the verge of retirement’ ex-stars will make MLS the next Qatar-y league – not the answer).