RFK Stadium in Washington, D.C., is about as historic a stadium as there is in Major League Soccer. It has seen the Washington Diplomats and Dutch legend Johan Cruyff in the bygone era of the original North American Soccer League in the 1970s and 80s. It hosted five matches during the 1994 FIFA World Cup, as well as matches in the 1996 Olympics. Now, it is in its final season as home of D.C. United before the club makes the move to its own new stadium at Audi Field next season.
For a few with Real Salt Lake, the building is a stone keepsake box for some of their greatest soccer memories. In 2004, RSL Head Coach Mike Petke and goalkeeper Nick Rimando were teammates with D.C. United and lifted the club’s fourth – and most recent – MLS Cup title.
Now, in advance of what is likely to be their final visit to the nearly-56-year-old monument to sports in America, Petke and Rimando both talked about the character and memories encased in the walls of RFK Stadium.
“I loved it,” beamed Petke, who played with D.C. from 2003-2005. “I love the charm. I love the raccoons running around down there and the rats … cockroaches the size of raccoons. And I won a championship there, so why wouldn’t I love RFK?”
Reminded of some of the nuance mentioned by his coach, Rimando laughed, “I’ve seen some gnarly stuff down there, but also had some great times in that jersey.”
Rimando played for D.C. from 2002-2006 before landing with Real Salt Lake and was the starting goalkeeper in the championship season of 2004. And while some with RSL may have fond memories of playing at RFK for other reasons, the club has yet to win at the cavernous park, going 0-6-3 in MLS play and 0-7-3 across all competitions.
Even with that record, players and coaches alike can’t help but smile when recalling memories of the stadium.
“There is a lot of history there, but character for sure,” Rimando said. “Last game at RFK, so it will be a memorable one.”
“It’s a monument,” Petke said. “It will be missed.”
Kickoff in Saturday’s match is scheduled for 5 p.m. MT with live television coverage on KMYU.
