From Day One to Forever: LA Galaxy Unveil Cobi Jones Statue at Legends Plaza
Cobi Jones spent his entire MLS career with the LA Galaxy and the club made sure he'll never be forgotten
As the curtains fell and confetti filled the air, Cobi Jones looked at the new statue of him at Legends Plaza. The LA Galaxy and U.S. Men’s National Team icon now sits with David Beckham and Landon Donovan as the figures forever immortalized in bronze.
Many ex-teammates such as Alexi Lalas, Carlos Ruiz, Eric Wynalda, Landon Donovan, and Robin Fraser — who had coached Toronto FC the night prior — were in attendance, along with current LA Galaxy Head Coach Greg Vanney, to witness the moment.
Jones spent his entire MLS career with the LA Galaxy. He was one of the faces of the franchise in the early years of the club’s history, even scoring the team’s first-ever goal. He originally had been working toward a degree in environmental science, but soccer called, and he never looked back.
“For a kid that wasn’t planning to play soccer past high school, that was told in high school that he was one of the worst players that someone had ever seen... those are just a few of the things that had to happen to make this dream work,” said Jones to reporters.
The early days of MLS were not easy. The league was new in a country where soccer was not the marquee sport — the NFL and NBA dominated the American sports landscape, and the question wasn’t whether MLS would thrive, but whether it would survive at all. Jones is grateful the league made it to a point where players can even think about being immortalized by their clubs.
“In those early years, I don’t think anyone thought of statues for soccer players. I mean, we were just trying to grind it out and survive, day to day, wondering if the league was going to be here next year,” said Jones.
He paused and smiled before continuing. “Eventually we had that success. Now, many, many years later, all of a sudden we’re on more stable ground and then statues start coming and all that happens.”
For Jones, the recognition carried a meaning that went beyond the bronze figure unveiled in front of him. He had wondered, quietly, whether the contributions of his era would be remembered by a fanbase that had grown up watching a very different version of the league.
“You kind of think, well, my time has passed,” he said. “But I was very pleased to hear that, no, they remember what you’ve done from back in the day.”
There is no debate among those who were there from the beginning about where Jones stands in the club’s history.
“For me, Cobi is the legend of this club, respectfully to all the guys who have statues out there,” said Vanney. “He’s been here since day one. He’s played every game. His whole career was here. His blood, sweat, tears everything was about LA Galaxy and the city of Los Angeles.”
That sentiment extends deep into the fanbase. For a generation of Galaxy supporters, Jones is the name that comes to mind first before the Beckhams and the Donovans, before the championships and the Hollywood glamour the club is known for.
“Cobi should’ve got it a long time ago,” said LA Galaxy fan Rigo Cardenas. “When you think of LA Galaxy, you think of Cobi Jones. He deserves it more than anyone else.”
Cardenas grew up watching Jones during the years the Galaxy played at the Rose Bowl. His family loved Jones so much they named the family dog Cobi. He is one of many Galaxy fans of his generation who hold Jones in that regard. For Cardenas, Jones is the original, the one who was there before any of it was guaranteed.
Vanney tied the timing of the statue unveiling to the Galaxy’s performance on the night against Real Salt Lake, drawing a connection between Jones’s career and the club’s 2-1 win on Sunday.
“I felt like today’s performance was kind of an embodiment of who Cobi is,” said Vanney. “Which is just find a way to keep persevering, keep getting it done, and success will find you when you keep earning it the way he did.”
Even the making of the statue carried Jones’s personality. Getting the iconic dreadlocks right was a priority and no small task.
“Each individual dreadlock had to be done separately in bronze to make sure it looked the right way,” Jones said with a laugh. “The last thing I wanted was for it to look like worms coming out of the top of my head.”
The result is a statue that captures not just the player but the person, the dreadlocks and speed that LA Galaxy fans grew accustomed to over the years.
“They killed it. The hair, the number 13, how it pops out its amazing,” said Cardenas while looking at the new statue.
With Legends Plaza now home to three statues, the conversation inevitably turns to who deserves to join them. Jones didn’t hesitate with his answer.
“I’m going to go for Carlos Ruiz,” he said. “He was so pivotal in us getting that first championship. He was magic inside the box and inside the 18.”
For now though, this moment belongs to Jones. The kid who wasn’t supposed to play past high school and wasn’t a college hotshot when he first joined UCLA. Now he’s a cherished member of the LA Galaxy history and forever one of the icons fans will see when walking into Dignity Health Sports Park.
“As I’ve told him many times. He’s earned it. He deserves it,” said Vanney.
“Now, for me, Legends Plaza is a little more where it should be.”