At first, Colorado Rapids defender Keegan Rosenberry thought his selection to the MLS All-Star Game was a joke.
Last Friday, while filming a video with the Rapids in which he was reading messages to fans off a teleprompter, one of the last lines the captain read was something along the lines of, “Hi, this is Keegan Rosenberry and I’ve been selected for the 2024 All-Star Game.”
“My reaction was a bit of denial at first to our media team,” Rosenberry said. “(I said), ‘This is a weird joke, why am I reading this?’ But as (Rapids coach Chris Armas) walked in with an All-Star kit, it became a little more real. … That was a really fun way to put that together.”
Now, it’s officially a reality.
Rosenberry will be back on the All-Star stage for the first time since he was a rookie with the Philadelphia Union in 2016, with the veteran defender formally named to the team Monday morning. He is the first Rapids player to be selected for the game since 2017 when Tim Howard made the cut.
The right back was selected by Columbus Crew coach and defending MLS champion Wilfried Nancy. Nancy was responsible for 16 picks; MLS players, fans and media selected another 12; and MLS Commissioner Don Garber selected two more.
Nancy’s selection meant a little bit more to Rosenberry, especially since the two don’t know each other well.
He said he doesn’t strive for things like an All-Star Game appearance or individual accolades, but he recognizes these things are often a reflection of how the team is doing.
“Since my rookie year, I’ve come to understand that these things are few and far between and very hard to come by. A lot of things have to go your way,” Rosenberry said. “I think above all else, team success is such a big piece of that and that’s what I’m thankful for. We’re trending in the right direction, we’ve had a good start to the year and we want to continue that, but that’s the only way that these types of personal achievements are possible.”
Rosenberry said other Rapids could have easily received the nod instead of him, like Djordje Mihailovic (attacking midfielder) and Moïse Bombito (center back). Bombito, who is currently with Canada awaiting a Copa America quarterfinal, finished high in the fan vote but missed out on a selection. Mihailovic (nine goals, eight assists) only started to really show out towards the end of the fan voting period.
Either way, Rosenberry is finding confidence both from the honor and from his coach’s endorsement of him this entire season.
“I felt that some other guys deserved this as well from our team and the seasons they’ve put together, but (Armas’) message was that I should be proud of it and I should own it,” Rosenberry said. “That inspires confidence in me the same way as the captain selection did early this preseason.”
The match between the 26-player MLS All-Star roster and top Mexican league Liga MX’s best players will take place in Columbus on July 24.
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Originally Published: July 1, 2024 at 11:23 a.m.
