BSB Exclusive: An interview with Ryan Johnson

Ryan Johnson is a lot like you or me. He works hard in order to provide for his family, when not working he takes care of 2 year old daughter while his wife works full-time. Ryan could be one of the millions of Americans struggling to help their family get by, only Ryan is not just a normal Joe. He's the leading goal scorer of the San Jose Earthquakes. Born in Kingston, Jamaica, Ryan grew up with aspirations to become a soccer legend. Starring in high school at Melrose High located 7 miles outside of Boston, he was able to achieve all league status by both the local Middlesex league and Emass league. Ryan attended Oregon State University where he played for three years amassing 18 goals and 30 assists in 76 matches. Drafted by Real Salt Lake in the third round of the 2005 MLS SuperDraft, Ryan bounced around the league several times before heading abroad to play for Osters IK in Sweden. After returning to America and a brief stint in the Major Indoor Soccer League, Ryan signed with the Quakes which is where we begin our interview.

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BSB: How would you describe yourself as a player?

RJ: "A very physical player. Every chance I get at the ball I play as hard as possible. I try to be as professional as I can and I have some ball skills that I show from time to time, its basically just what people normally see."

BSB: Is there any one player that you try to emulate?

RJ: "No, I try to take bits and pieces from everyone that I watch in television or in person. I watch a lot of the veteran players who have been in awhile and even the younger players. I try to see what works for some people and then attempt to integrate their moves into my game."

BSB: How would you describe how the season has gone for the Earthquakes?
RJ: "It’s disappointing, I’m having a good season myself, the best season that I have ever had but as a team its disappointing because we have a good team but we’ve changed a lot of players. The team plays hard every game, there’s only been one or two games where we haven’t given the best effort that we can on that day. It’s disappointing that the results haven’t gone our way and a lot has to do with luck. If we could get a couple of different results early in the season it could have been a lot different when it comes to the mentality of the players. If I could use one word to describe it, it’s been disappointing but that’s not going to stop the amount of effort that we put in."

BSB: How has the season gone for you? You’re the leading goal scorer but you haven’t yet achieved the status of regular starter. How has this year gone?

RJ: " It’s gone really well for me. I’m trying as hard as possible and it will be really good for me to end the season as the leading goal scorer. I’ve been learning a lot and getting a lot of experience on the field so there are positives that I can take out of this season and that’s what I try to focus on instead of a lot of the negatives."

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BSB: What do the Quakes have to do to make the playoffs next season?

RJ: "Our biggest problem this season has been defensive split ups. Defending from the front to the back needs to be a lot tougher at times mentally when it comes to set pieces, when it comes to our concentration level, letting guys go into space, and allowing open headers. These things have really hurt us this season. They are little things but the little things cost goals and once you go down one or two goals, its really hard to come back into games. "

BSB: What are your perceptions of the new stadium?

RJ: "It looked great, I hope that I’ll be around to play in and represent the Earthquakes in it. It looked really nice and could be one of the nicest stadiums in the league. It’s exciting but we’ve got to first see what’s going to happen in terms of the bill being passed by the city. Hopefully, it moves quickly so that we can break ground and get the stadium up."

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(Photo courtesy of 360 Architecture, San Jose Earthquakes)
Johnson and the other Quakes are big fans of the new stadium plans.

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BSB: Everyone knows about the glamour of the life of a professional athlete in America but due to MLS’ lower profile, it is significantly different, what is a day in the life for an MLS player like?

RJ: "It’s nice because you’re living your dream. You’re playing professionally and you’re not doing the typical nine to five job that you get when you leave college. It’s really fun because you’re loved what you’re doing. But for a lot of the young players who come out of college who are on developmental contracts with really low pay, it can get very frustrating. I remember last year, two years ago being very frustrated with the pay that we young players get in this league. It takes a lot of time to break through and number 1. get the money that you deserve and number 2. get the playing time you deserve. It takes a lot of time in comparison to players overseas who signed pro contracts and get half a million, a million dollars, it changes your whole life. MLS players, it’s not a life changer financially so we’re a lot hungrier than a lot of the European based players because we’re working hard because we can’t get released from a team and be okay for a couple of years. We just don’t make that kind of money. It’s a grind because players are trying to get into this league every day and someone will always be there to take your spot so you work hard to keep your spot for now and in the future. It’s just a constant grind and there is no time to relax in this league."

BSB: What’s the Celebrity status for an MLS player?

RJ: "You get recognized around town by people. It’s nothing like LeBron James or Kobe level, that’s real celebrity but people come up to you in the supermarket and tell you that you had a good performance last weekend. It’s really nice to be recognized and sign autographs for people; it’s just one of those things that come with the life."

BSB: Would you say that MLS allows fans to relate to their fans due to the wages and the standard of living?

RJ: "We can definitely relate to the fans a lot more than other leagues. Everyone knows pretty much how much money we make in the league so it puts us on the same level. It’s cool because it’s very different than other sports so I feel that sometimes that fans can relate to the players because we work hard and in many cases make the same wages that they do. This forces the players the players to be more humble, a lot of the players from overseas aren’t going to treat the people the way that an MLS player would treat a fan on the street. At the end of the day, we’ve got to work just as hard as the average Joe. It’s cool that we can relate to each other that much more. I guarantee you that if European players were making the MLS wages, they would not treat the fans the way that they do sometimes but it is true that sometimes money changes people. "

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BSB: You’ve appeared once for the Jamaican National Team, how would you rate the state of Jamaican soccer right now?

RJ: "It’s disappointing that we’re not in the hexagonal (the final six teams in CONCACAF World Cup Qualifying). It’s been a huge goal for the country to reach the world cup. As a team we have some really good players but it takes time for the other players to gel together. We’ve got some good games under our belt where we beat some big teams but at the moment I’m trying to do my best for my club team (the Earthquakes) so that I can get more call ups for my national team. It’s a goal of mine to keep pursuing but it’s not easy because there are so many players European based and MLS based who are fighting for a spot on the national team. I’m just going to continue to do my best and hopefully my efforts on the field for the Earthquakes will allow me to get recognized."

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BSB: Enough serious questions, what do you in your spare time?

RJ: " I pretty much spend 100% of time with my young daughter, she’s two years old. she’s the best but she demands a lot of supervision. I don’t really get too much time to be by myself because my daughter. I’m at home with her a lot when my wife is away at work because she works full time. I just try to enjoy life because life is short."

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Currently playing on RJ's Ipod: "Empire State of Mind"

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BSB: What’s your favorite Music?

RJ: "Reggae and Hip Hop but in terms of artists, the Jay-Z album that just came out two weeks ago has been very good. With Reggae, I listen to a lot of Vybz Kartel but I have a pretty wide array of music in my iPod."

BSB: Any pregame music?

RJ: "I don’t have anything specific that I listen to every pregame. I like to listen to a lot of inspirational type of music, things that will keep you up and make you never give up. I like these much better than just a song that I like."

BSB: Does that mean you listen to a song like “I believe I can fly?” before a game?

RJ: "No."

BSB: The Earthquakes media guide says that you’re a very talented basketball player, who is your favorite player in the NBA?

RJ: "I would say Kobe (Bryant) or LeBron (James) because they’re just on another level when it comes to their ability to play the sport."

BSB: Do you get to watch the Golden State Warriors at all?

RJ: "Yeah, I’ve been to a few, they’re very exciting. I try to go to as many as I can get to especially when the front office hooks us up. I try to take advantage of any opportunity I can get to go to the games with some of the guys or my wife. I know there season is starting up in a few months so I hope to check out a few of their games."

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BSB: Where do you think you’ll be in 5 years?

RJ: "I’ll still be playing. I’ll be 29 years old and hopefully have a championship under my belt. I plan to just keep playing and build up my resume."