Teal, Kylie, and Logan (left to right)
In this latest installment of BTW presented by Heineken, I had the pleasure of spending time with Teal Bunbury of the New England Revolution and his lovely brother and sister, Logan and Kylie. For those of you unfamiliar with the Bunbury brood and their uber impressive individual resumes, I'll summarize: Teal is a nine-year MLS veteran in the midst of a career season; Logan (the youngest) is an accomplished rapper/R&B artist, and Kylie (the oldest) is a rising star in Hollywood, having starred in the series "Pitch" on FOX and most recently the film "Game Night" (more on that later...). What a bunch of underachievers, eh?
I first made the trip to Boston to clock some time with Teal at his home. In honor of Kylie's film, I thought it would be fun to have our very own "game night" and Teal was more than down for a little friendly competition which ended up being fairly one-sided as Teal took home narrow victories in both Connect Four and a truly epic match of Jenga. I won't even discuss our attempt at Operation. Embarrassing at both ends, I'll just leave it at that.
Playing Connect Four with Teal
Post-gaming, we sat down and chatted about everything from his remarkable 2018 season, fatherhood, and most importantly, the incredible bond he has with his family and how it is shaped him, not only as a soccer player but as a man. A Skype call with Kylie and Logan confirmed how close these siblings are. So many laughs and so many stories, including one about Teal and what he really wanted to be when he grew up. Hint: It wasn't a soccer player! Based on the conversation alone, it was easy to see how much fun these three have together and I could not wait to hop on a plane to LA where I would meet up with the Bunbury sibs to watch Teal and the Revs take on LAFC.
Chatting at Kylie's home in California
Upon arriving in LA, Kylie graciously invited us over to her adorable home in Venice where the three Bunbury siblings were reunited for the first time since Christmas! As we were setting up our gear, all I could hear was a constant stream of laughter from all three and I immediately knew the Bunbury Bunch Reunion was going to be a whole lot of fun. Sitting down with all three of them was everything I thought it would be; hilarious, warm, insightful, and touching. Each of them, incredibly different, but so driven and so successful in their own right, remain humble and attribute much of that success to the love and support they feel and receive from each other. So much of who they are individually as people comes directly from the special relationship they fostered and share. It really was beautiful to witness it firsthand.
Even better was seeing the pride on Kylie and Logan's face after the match where Teal notched an assist on the game-tying goal. During his celebration with his teammates he looked up to where they were sitting in the crowd and pointed to his biggest fans, a perfect way to end what was a perfect shoot with a perfect family. Oh, and when I asked if they'd adopt me they didn't say no. Just saying.
Cheers to the Bunbury Bunch and cheers to you! Thanks for watching.
