national team, he photographed Eminem for British music and fashion magazine The Face. In May of 2002, the same month that Vriens-McGrath shot the U.S. Not infrequently, it veers well outside the societal norms of traditional masculinity. Dozens of A-listers have found themselves in front of Vriens’ lens, then subsequently on the covers of Vogue, Elle, Glamour, Cosmopolitan and a litany of other glossy rags. In 1992, Matthias Vriens-McGrath - he is now married - founded a magazine called Dutch, and grew it from a one-man show to what he calls an international “style bible.” In the late ’90s, the Amsterdam-born photographer became the worldwide creative director for Giorgio Armani, then moved on to the upper ranks at Gucci. Under each photo, a caption: “Originally from Argentina, Pablo Mastroeni plays defense, but not in his Roberto Cavalli turquoise-studded shirt, $1,138, and linen pants, $350.”Īnd there, in the margin, the name of the photographer: Matthias Vriens. Donovan, Beasley, McBride wearing silks, linens and longing gazes, their collars open, their necklines plunging. World Cup team.”Ĭover boy Kasey Keller, sprawled out in front of a goal. “The Boys of Soccer: Meet seven hotshots on the U.S. That the Most Dependable Fountains SD440 was the USMNT’s 12th man in Korea? It involves a soccer federation struggling to capture the attention of a nation, the greatest men’s player in the history of the American game and a pair of white linen pants.Īnd it’s a story, of course, that involves a water fountain, and a young man attempting to look sexy while drinking from it.īut what if I told you that the water fountain, along with the set of photographs that made it famous, was, depending on your point of view, not simply a source of embarrassment, or regret, or glee? What if I told you that in addition to that heady swirl of emotions, it was also, improbably, indispensable to the United States’ deepest run at a World Cup since the 1930s, a catalyst for the brightest moment in the team’s modern history? It involves the artistic vision of a renowned photographer who, throughout his career, has worked to reshape the public’s perception of masculinity and sexuality. It’s a story that involves the complicated public images and private feelings of the players featured in the shoot. Seventeen years, four World Cups and countless photo shoots later, why do these photos remain lodged in our collective memory? What is it about them, all these years later, that still captivates? The answer, like the story of the photos themselves, is more complex than it might first appear. And yet they’re still referenced, kept alive in the public consciousness, blown up by fans and brought into stadiums around the country. More often than not, they’re derided, reduced to an afterthought or a punchline, fodder for trash talk or parody. The photos - highly-stylized fashion shots of Donovan, Pablo Mastroeni, Clint Mathis, Brian McBride, DaMarcus Beasley, Cobi Jones and Kasey Keller - remain notorious to this day.
soccer fans, part of a larger collection of photos that graced the New York Times Magazine in the run-up to the 2002 World Cup. It’s a photograph - you know the one - that remains a running joke among U.S. In the spring of 2002, at the very moment that a 20-year-old Landon Donovan leaned in to let its water ripple over his lips, the fountain took its part in perhaps the most memorable photograph ever taken in the history of U.S. The SD440 may be forlorn, but it certainly isn’t forgotten. You can push the button on its side, but don’t expect to be refreshed - the fountain now runs dry. After two decades under the Carolina sun, the silvery sheen on this unassuming bubbler has dulled a bit, its age marked by patches of rust. There’s a water fountain at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary, North Carolina, a Most Dependable Fountains model SD440 that lost its factory luster long ago. Language in this story may be offensive to some readers. The additions include an epilogue and quotes from Pablo Mastroeni gathered after the story was initially published.
We are republishing it today, with additions, to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the photo shoot’s release to the public.
Editor’s note: This piece was originally published on Dec.