Who Are Ya!! - Troy Bragg

Where were you born?
I was born in Bismarck, North Dakota and grew up across the Missouri River in Mandan, ND.


If you were not born in the Kansas City area, when did you arrive and what circumstances brought you to KC? 
In August of 1986, I came to the KC area to go to MidAmerica Nazarene University in Olathe.  Back then, the college was smaller (it became a university in 1996) and my freshman year was the first year it had a varsity mens soccer program (it was abandoned after the 1987 season but was re-started in the late 90s or early 00s).  I would have had a small scholarship if I made the team, but I injured my knee playing church league softball (* cough *) about a month before I was supposed to report to camp fully fit.


What team(s) do you support as a fan?
I have been a Wiz / Wizards / Sporting fan since they were a gleam in Lamar Hunt's eye.  When the English Premiership was first shown regularly in the Kansas City area, I took a liking to Leeds United.  They were young and fearless, and their manager, David O'Leary, was confident in his young players.  Also, I have tried to pay attention to Lazio in Italy since Serie A came to Fox Soccer Channel (Fox Sports World then).  At that time, they had an attacking team unlike a lot of the very defensive-minded sides they faced.


What is your earliest soccer memory?
As a kid growing up in North Dakota in the 70s, soccer was not really on my radar until I was in 5th grade.  That year I began attending a small private school which had been started, in part, by a family from upstate New York.  We didn't have any playground equipment, but we did have a large open space on one side of the school... and a ball.  It was there I was introduced to the sport by the kids who came from NY.  Pele was playing for the Cosmos and there was an NASL team in Minneapolis, so we did get some games on t.v. from time to time.  When I entered 7th grade, my school started an actual team and played games in South Dakota.  Two years later there were 5 other high school-age teams in North Dakota that we would play against leading up to the South Dakota tournament.


How did you find the Youngs Park game?
I built the first set of goals out of PVC pipe in 2000.  I invited a few friends and we tried out a few fields before settling at Maple Hills Park.  The game floundered with low numbers until Tom and his two sons walked across the street from their house and asked if we had room for them to play.  Of course we did, and the rest is history.


Can you tell us something about yourself that not everyone in the group would know?
Most probably know this, but the most interesting thing about me is that I have been fortunate to attend the opening World Cup match for the US since 1998.  My buddy got me a ticket for the 1994 US opener in Detroit, but I was unable to take time off work.  After missing that match, I have made sure to make time.  We have been to Europe twice, Asia, and Africa for matches.  We have had a great run so far!