Last week I stumbled upon this great book review in GQ.  As an avid reader I was pleased to see that I have read about half of these books so far, my high school English teacher would be proud. Only about ten more to go.  Here it is for your purview. 

Taylor Graham Models the Longshot Apparel Shihadeh

Seattle Sounders Taylor Graham looks great in the new Longshot Apparel Shihadeh (named after one of our best customers).  We were super pleased to work with our friend and tall man Taylor Graham (6’4 and  195ish pounds). Taylor is the perfect Longshot Apparel guy, not only is he tall and lean but he’s athletic with a rich professional soccer pedigree.

Taylor Graham in a Sounders Match

Taylor is currently a marketing executive with the Seattle Sounders but prior to that he played on the Sounders Team.  His soccer career is a long and successful one.  The story goes like this. Graham, 31, signed with Sounders FC on January 21, 2009 after spending three seasons (2005, 2007-08) with the USL-1 Sounders. Graham made one league appearance in his three seasons with Seattle and started nine of his 10 appearances across all competitions, logging 822 total minutes. He started four matches during Seattle’s three consecutive Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup title runs and started five CONCACAF Champions League Group Stage games in 2010.

Prior to joining Sounders FC, Graham played four MLS seasons for Kansas City (2003-04) and New York (2006-07), appearing in 34 games. He was a member of the 2005 and 2007 USL-1 Seattle Sounders championship teams. Graham was named USL-1 Defender of the Year in 2005 and first team All-USL-1 in 2005 and 2008. A graduate of Stanford University, Graham was also named the club’s Humanitarian of the Year in 2009.

Graham attended Rio Americano High School and played five years of college soccer at Stanford University, registering as a walk-on his freshman year of 1998, and only appearing in two games in 1999. After appearing in 18 games his sophomore season, Graham started every possible game his final two, winning first team All-Pac-10 his senior year, as he led the Cardinal to an appearance in the NCAA College Cup.

After graduating from Stanford, Graham was drafted 33rd overall in the 2003 MLS SuperDraft by the Kansas City Wizards. Graham was signed to a developmental contract, making two appearances and playing a total of ten minutes. In his second season Graham was given significantly more playing time, playing as both a right back and central defender. After a season in the USL First Division when he played every minute for the Seattle Sounders, led his team to the title, and was named USL Defender of the Year, Graham was acquired by the MetroStars, now New York Red Bulls. He was released midway through the 2007 season and signed with his former club Seattle Sounders. He then signed withSeattle Sounders FC, a continuation of the Sounders in Major League Soccer. On May 26, 2010 he had his first appearance of the 2010 season in a friendly against Boca Juniors of Argentina, playing the full 90 minutes and putting up a solid performance.

Graham announced his retirement on December 2, 2011, after he was dropped from the roster by the Seattle Sounders.

Taylor Graham at Retirement Ceremony with Seattle Sounders

Graham represented Puerto Rico in three international friendlies (including the team’s first win in 14 years) during early 2008 before theFederación Puertorriqueña de Fútbol modified its eligibility requirement. All U.S. citizens used to be eligible for Puerto Rico national teams, but now the player pool is restricted to players who have lived on the island for at least two years, meaning that Graham is no longer eligible for the Puerto Rico national team per federation rules.^[2

Fun Trivia

Graham appeared on The Price is Right on June 24, 2009. In the showcase he spoke on one of the prizes which was a vacation to Seattle, to go to any 2 home games of Seattle Sounders and watch them play.^[3]