FOXBOROUGH — When A Brighter Day by George Huff pops up on the Gillette Stadium sound system after the cheers of euphoria rise amongst the Revolution faithful, amazing things have just happened on the pitch below.
So far in 2018, that song has played six times. Teal Bunbury is hoping — much like every other Revs supporter out there — to hear it more before this season is all said and done.
Already at 10 goals this season, Bunbury is in the midst of a hot streak that hasn’t been seen in these parts in a few years. Since July 5, 2017, TB10 has scored 10 goals, including a pair against Los Angeles Galaxy on July 22. That’s what really got his hot streak going, and he’s been in Can’t Stop, Won’t Stop mode ever since.
Before Major League Soccer took some time off to account for the World Cup, one would think Bunbury wouldn’t have welcomed the break: after all, nine of his goals came in the weeks prior, and no one wanted to see the momentum slowed.
But in first-half stoppage time against DC United in the first match back, Bunbury scored a go-ahead goal, and Brighter Day roared as the former top draft pick of the then-Kansas City Wizards stood in the corner, his arms crossed over his chest, waiting for his teammates.
His work rate and, of course, goal-scoring have impressed Brad Friedel.
"Teal meets our profile for a few positions, and we've tried him at a few positions," Friedel said. "We've put him out on the wing a few times; he has this incredible work ethic and he doesn't mind where he is on the field; if you have an injury or you need to change things up, he's versatile.
"What we're impressed with is the type of runs he's making, and he causes defenders a lot of problems."
To get to this point, Bunbury has had to go through two trials: the first was when he tore his anterior cruciate ligament while with Sporting Kansas City.
“It was just about keeping my spirits up,” Bunbury said Tuesday. “My faith was a big strong point during that. It’s easy to get lost since you’re not playing; sometimes you’re excommunicated from the team a little bit. I knew I was going to play again, and I knew that ACLs and LCLs and all these things have improved so much over the years.”
The striker had 10 months of rehab before he started working out and preparing himself for the second half of SKC’s ’13 campaign.
“The biggest thing was a mental barrier; the cutting took time and the strengthening took time," he said. "But it’s also having the right mindset, knowing when you can push it when you’re strong enough. And when you have an injury like that, guys step up; we had some guys in KC who stepped up, so I knew I wasn’t going to come back in and play right away, playing every minute of every game."
And that was another thing: over the last few seasons, Bunbury — who came to the Revs via trade after the ’13 season — hadn’t played the same number of minutes necessary to be the prime goal scorer.
“I know this year, I’ve played more than I did last year,” Bunbury said. “Coach has a little more confidence in me playing back in that center-forward role. But I think it’s just maintaining the right attitude, and like you said, being in the right positions, and working hard.
“I was playing in a different kind of style, as well. And I was playing more out wide, and when you’re a winger, you’re not scoring as many sometimes, but the work rate has always been there. I’ve always tried to stay consistent and keep my head in the right place.”
Keeping his head in the right place can have so many meanings, and one of those is where it is with his football knowledge,and playing to the whistle. For instance, he was in an offside position nearing the end of the first half against Sporting Kansas City on April 28. However, when SKC's Roger Espinoza toe-poked the football forward, it became just another footballing move.
While everyone thought Diego Fagundez had played him forward -- SKC's defenders shouted for offside -- Bunbury kept his cool, corralled the ball, and fired it in for what would end up being the only goal of the game.
Leaders do that.
“As a striker, you want to be prepared, opportunistic, whenever the chances come your way, you want to be ready,” Bunbury said after that match. “You try to prepare for that. You could probably see my reaction. I got the ball and when it went in the back of the net, I was, ‘Aw, I was probably offside.’ They reviewed it, saw it went off (Espinoza), so I was in the right spot at the right time. That’s my job, to just be ready.
“In any other day, maybe I just turn and pass it back to the keeper, something like that, but I think you just have to be alert. That’s what we train for during the week.”
Teammate Scott Caldwell seconds this, and told BostonSportsJournal.com that Bunbury is without a shadow of a doubt a leader on this Revolution club.
"He’s all-in on everything he does," the Braintree native said. "Whether it be a simple conversation you have with him, he’s locked in. He’s personable, he’s caring, and on the field, he’s going to give it his all. It’s a simple thing to say, but it’s not a simple thing to do: that someone on both sides of the ball works as hard as he does. I don’t think there’s a guy across the league that really works as hard as he does on and off the ball.
"He wants to be better than everyone. He’s competitive just like all of us. Whether it be in the film room or on the field, he wants to be the best player and person he can be. He’s also one of the guys who’s willing to tell it like it is. He’s a leader, but he’s willing to crack some jokes here and there to keep the mood up and keep the team lively. He really does it all for us."
As noted above, Bunbury is a devout Christian — A Brighter Day is a gospel song, he said; “I’ve been listening to for a long time; when I’m feeling a little down, it puts me in a good mood. It’s uplifting and makes everyone bounce a little bit, so when I hear it, it makes me smile.” — and that his faith is what makes him tick.
“I know that sometimes people don’t like to hear it or don’t like to talk about it, but that’s something that’s really important to me,” he said, noting that he found the Lord while studying and playing soccer at the University of Akron. “That’s where I draw my strength from, and I think that has been my foundation and my No. 1 priority. Now I have a wife and a baby girl, and that’s also motivating factors by my side. Those things are things that drive me; I want to come out here and work my tail off for them.”
Moving forward, Bunbury knows the challenges the remainder of the ’18 regular season presents the Revolution: of the remaining 15 games, 10 of those are road games. One of those road games is Wednesday, and it’ll be a homecoming for Bunbury: the Revs are at Minnesota United, and Bunbury was brought up in Prior Lake, outside of Minneapolis.
More road games than home mean fewer opportunities for A Brighter Day to play publicly.
But we’re sure it will play in his heart when scoring on the road.
“We’re going to be playing tough teams,” he acknowledged. “My thing is I’m a center-forward, and I should be scoring goals. That’s my job; that’s why I don’t always sit there and pat myself on the back. Does it feel good? Of course. It feels good when I score goals and the team’s winning or getting results. That’s something that’s going to continue to motivate me. Working hard, whether it’s scoring, assisting, busting my tail defensively, being in the right positions, being a motivating factor and an example for my teammates.
“I don’t try to get too caught up in the goals, because I know how they can come and go, but I’m going to try and put myself in the right positions to score as many as I can.”
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