Nothing could have topped the moment Colin Underly learned Zack Steffen had signed with the Colorado Rapids.
A goalkeeper himself as a partner on the Colorado Rapids’ Special Olympics Unified Team, Colin had idolized Steffen since his days at Manchester City — Colin’s favorite club.
The two met after the Unified team beat Real Salt Lake last May. The bond was instant.
“It was awesome. He’s a funny kid, man. Very sarcastic and a goofy guy, loves to make jokes and crack jokes,” Steffen said. “I just really loved his demeanor and his wittiness, and it was just fun to be around. It’s always a privilege to have room to be a role model and for kids to look up to you.”
Their connection is central to what the Unified program is all about: Inclusion, joy and community.
This weekend, as the Unified team begins its 13th season as an exchange program between the Rapids and Special Olympics Colorado, Steffen is helping to fill the stands for the team’s match against Real Salt Lake on Saturday.
In late April, the club announced a campaign to sell out the Unified match between the Rapids and club rival RSL, which kicks off after the Rapids game. To help the push, Steffen bought and donated 100 tickets, most of which will go to friends and family of Special Olympics athletes and the team’s partners, like Colin.
Steffen and Underly often chop it up on the field or at Unified events, and it isn’t uncommon for the two to like each other’s posts on Instagram — something Underly still can’t quite believe.
“It’s amazing. Colin will be like, ‘Everyone looks up to (Lionel) Messi or whoever, but I have my own hero right here in Colorado,’” said Molly Underly, Colin’s mom and coach of the Unified team. “It’s definitely been really special for us. It goes beyond soccer.”
Admission to the Unified match comes with a ticket to the first team’s game, which begins at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park. Fans who stay for the 10 p.m. Unified kickoff will have a chance to win prizes, including signed jerseys and tickets to the U.S. Women’s National Team match at DSGP later this summer.
Rapids VP of community, events and entertainment Caitlin Kinser, one of the driving forces behind the sell-out effort, thinks fans will walk away from the Unified match with more.
“My hope is that it would provide perspective for people,” Kinser said. “You see these athletes coming out here, they’re getting this amazing experience, and they’re playing with all their heart, they’re playing for a trophy, they’re playing for the badge. They’re playing for the same things that the first team is playing for.
“I think just being able to see why inclusion matters and why it’s important to provide these opportunities for that community … it will bring (fans) a lot of joy.”
The Rapids have given strong support to the Unified program since its inception, providing charter flights with the first team, contract signing events before the season and matches on the fields their favorite players play on. In 2020, the club chose Special Olympics athlete Scotty Stephens as its model for the MLS kit release event in New York.
The most glaring difference that remains between the MLS and Unified teams is in the stands — a gap the club hopes to bridge Saturday night and beyond.
“It’s really hard to put into words how much it means to our players. I think this is such a special and unique opportunity and we really are changing what it means to be unified and including. There’s not other opportunities like this,” Molly Underly said. “It’s definitely changing lives in ways I never really could have thought possible. The players and the coaches from the first team all say, ‘One team, one club,’ and they really embrace that.”
For years, players like Cole Bassett and former Rapids defender Lalas Abubakar have made it a priority to attend Unified events. This year, Steffen, midfielder Oliver Larraz and coach Chris Armas joined the fray and have become mainstays.
Steffen said that beyond the ticket donation, he wants even more of a presence from his teammates at the Unified games.
“I just want to see kids having fun with smiles,” he said. “I’m a father, so all I would want to see for my daughter is all the role models in the community treating her well and treating her friends well and spreading love and kindness. That’s what I’m trying to do here.”
The first team will begin its Rocky Mountain Cup defense Saturday after a string of bad losses. The Unified squad, which only plays RSL’s team once per year, is searching for a three-peat in the rivalry.
For Molly, whose son has a Steffen poster hanging in his room and a gifted pair of his goalie gloves emblazoned with his daughter’s name, it’s a goalkeeper relationship neither of them would have foreseen.
“(Colin) is reminded a lot that (Steffen) is not only his friend, but that he’s looking out for him,” she said. “And so for Colin, I really do think it’s one of those moments that have been life-changing for him.”
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