Espinoza has been a huge part of Sporting Kansas City for more than a decade.
He's one of the three pillars of the SKC era, alongside Graham Zusi and Matt Besler.
The trio have combined to bring the club it's most successful run on and off the pitch.
With Besler gone and both Zus and Roger’s careers winding down, they have found ways to continue being impactful and important at the club where they’ve been their careers.
One of those magic moments for Roger occurred during a pause in play on June 19th, 2022 against Nashville SC.
With SKC holding onto a 2-1 lead in the second half, the referee awarded Nashville SC a penalty. As Hany Mukhtar prepared to take the shot, Espinoza walked up and began complaining about the placement of the ball for the PK. He eventually picked it up, receiving a yellow card.
The delay caused by Espinoza picking up the ball resulted in VAR reviewing the penalty and overturning the call.
It was peak “red card Roger” gamesmanship and shithousery and it ultimately saved the three points as Sporting Kansas City won, 2-1.
Roger Espinoza wore this secondary (Juneteenth) match worn shirt on June 19th, 2022.
It has some light wear and is signed by Espinoza on the back.
He signed it on the back next to his number which was done up in a commemorative design dedicated to honoring Juneteenth 1865, marking the end of slavery in the USA. These shirts also came in special boxes.
These new secondary "State Line 3.0" kits look better in person than they do on TV. The area code details in the fabric are too subtle to notice on television which causes the kit to look pretty plain in that medium. While the intricacies make it pop a bit more up close, these shirts still pale in comparison to the 2013-2014 "State Line 2.0" that the club won MLS Cup in during that magical 2013 season.
