McPride

If you are between the ages of 20-30, American and you liked soccer at one point, odds are that Brian McBride was one of your favorite players growing up.

That's what makes seeing McBride retire as well so hard to take.

Who could ever forget his clutch goals for the U.S. national team against Portugal and Mexico in 2002 and the elbow he took in the face vs. Italy in 2006?

He also was a mainstay with Fulham and helped them avoid relegation in 2008 after coming back from a bunch of injuries. Fulham fans liked the Yank so much that they named a bar "McBride's" in honor of him at Craven Cottage, their home stadium.

Watching that Mexican match in the middle of the night after I graduated high school, a couple of buddies and I started calling McBride McPride cause he had so much heart.

That sounds pretty lame but it's true and no strikers have ever put the U.S. on the map like McBride.

"I haven't looked at it from that standpoint," McBride said when asked what he wants his legacy to be. "I hope that I've added quality to wherever I've been and also done things in the right way, with class. Hopefully I've been able to pass on a few words of wisdom."