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Power Couple:
Chris and Kathleen Matthews
THE 10TH ANNUAL
POWER
WASHINGTON’S MOST INFLUENTIAL
MY WASHINGTON: THIEVERY CORPORATION’S ERIC HILTON | SPORTS: D.C. UNITED’S CHRIS PONTIUS AND STEVE BIRNBAUM FASHION: PLAYFUL GINGHAM AND GROOVY ’70s PRINTS | HOME LIFE: QUARRY SPRINGS AND SOTHEBY’S REAL ESTATE
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PA RT I PA ES! RT PA IE RT S! IE S!
POWER DINING SPOTS: RUTH’S CHRIS TURNS 50
LIFESTYLES | DINE AND DISH
POST GAME
DISHING WITH D C UNITED Chris Pontius and Steve Birnbaum share the 4-1-1 on the current keepers of RFK Stadium
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B Y L A U R A WA I N M A N
hat is it about a big juicy steak that puts a guy in the right mood to talk? I haven’t solved that yet, but thankfully BLT Steak provided just the right atmosphere, and that perfect filet, to put D.C. United defender Steve Birnbaum and midfielder Chris Pontius in a loquacious mood. With all the friendly competition and playful ribs exchanged, I would have thought the teammates were brothers, but it turns out they are just roommates. Over the course of L to R: Chris Pontius, Laura Wainman and Steve Birnbaum kicking it at BLT Steak. (Photo by Tony Powell) lunch, Pontius and Birnbaum spoke openly about their lives on and off the field, YOU ARE BOTH FROM CALIFORNIA. WHAT WERE YOUR and revealed some little-known D.C. United FIRST IMPRESSIONS OF WASHINGTON, D.C.? factoids, such as the team’s reigning Ping CP: To be honest, I was a bit culture shocked. Pong champion, the mandatory attire of a I came from Santa Barbara and the pace of life post-win night out on the town and how was just a bit slower. I’ve been here for seven they adjusted from playing with to playing years, and I think I really started to embrace the city by my third year. I was more adventurous for coach Olson. >> in going out and making new friends, especially outside of soccer.When I had that escape to not HAVE EITHER OF YOU EATEN HERE BEFORE? Steve Birnbaum: Once, with my mom. I’ve be talking about soccer all day, I started enjoying heard it’s [Coach] Ben’s favorite though. the city more. Chris Pontius: He’s so picky about food. I asked SB: The weather was the biggest shock for me. him if he’d been to Barcelona on 14th, which It snowed until April, I think, the first winter I I love and think is the most amazing place. He was here. It probably took about six months to goes “yeah, it’s ok I guess.” settle in. But I was lucky, coming in with some great guys - we had basically a whole new team THAT’S A GREAT DATE SPOT. WHAT ARE SOME OF YOUR that year, so we were all in it together. Chris and FAVORITE PLACES TO EAT AROUND TOWN? I bonded being from Orange County and we CP: Barcelona is my place.I am more of a tapas hit it off right away. Living in Northern Virginia guy. Boqueria is another good one. I don’t know as much of the city as I’d like to. SB: Rays the Steaks is good. My goal this year is to get out more in the city and try new restaurants. We order a Tuna Tartare starter for the table. Pontius and Birnbaum both order the 12 oz. filet HOW DO YOU SPEND YOUR FREE TIME? SB: We recently got into golf. with classic and horseradish sauces respectively, CP: When he says we “got into it,” we are not and I order a grilled Wagyu skirt steak salad.
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good. Let’s just clarify that. SB: True. We go out and we have a little foursome through our team with Taylor Kemp and Davy Arnaud. Those guys have been playing for a while. Pretty much whenever we have a day off, we’ll hit the links. CP: Chris: It’s a love-hate relationship. I like to bike around the city a lot. Last year when I was injured, I used it as my fitness. I would bike all the way out to Mount Vernon and back. It’s a great way to see the city. WHAT IS A TYPICAL WEEK LIKE WHEN YOU ARE IN SEASON? CP: It kind of depends on where we are in the season, or if we are winning since we get more days off when we are winning. But say we have a home game on Saturday, we’ll generally come in Monday around 8:15 a.m. for the injured players and 9:15 for training players. We’ll watch video or have a meeting at 9:45 and then head to the training field. We’ll be back at the stadium around noon for a lifting session or yoga.We typically hang out together afterwards, rather than racing back to our apartments. We might play some ping-pong or what not. We’ll be back for training Thursday/Friday and game on Saturday. WHO IS THE TEAM PING-PONG CHAMP? CP: I’m the best. SB: He is not. CP: I’m the Duke in this scenario. SB: I think there’s a pretty general consensus
that Chris Rolfe is the best player. CP: Oh, he is the best ping-pong player. He’s the Kentucky. SB: We have tournaments once or twice throughout the year, but we have a league that runs basically the full year.
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IT SOUNDS LIKE A PRETTY FUN ATMOSPHERE. IS THAT THE NORMAL VIBE AMONGST THE TEAM? CP: You want to keep it as lively as possible in the locker room. As the season wears on, especially with our season being so long, it can feel like coming in is a chore. I know we are very blessed and lucky to be doing what we do, but it does get strenuous at times. So these are things on the side that keep you a little more motivated to come in and get to work. SB: It keeps the guys close and interested and competitive. We’re always competitive. HOW DO YOU FIND THE DATING AND SOCIAL SCENE HERE? SB: I am recently single, and I’ve found people are more welcoming here than I thought in the beginning. They might be more willing to talk to you than in California actually. CP: I’ve only had one girlfriend that I’ve dated from D.C. I guess there are a lot of opportunities now for dating, but we don’t have the benefit of work happy hours, since we are in a locker room with 28 guys most of the time. Most 9 to 5 jobs give you the chance to meet friends of friends and date. DO YOU REMEMBER A MOMENT WHERE YOU KNEW SOCCER COULD BE A CAREER OPTION? SB: Probably freshman year of high school. I started getting called into youth national soccer camps, and meeting guys that were professionals and I thought “wow this could be a thing” and I really committed to it. CP: That’s a lot earlier than me. I was in junior year of college probably. We won national champs my sophomore year, but I wasn’t a star on that team or anything. I started peaking some interest my junior year, from MLS teams mainly. I wasn’t thinking about it as a way to go pro, I just couldn’t have imagined my college experience without soccer or the team. THE CURRENT SEASON STARTED ON A RECORD HIGHNOTE, WITH WINS IN THREE OF THE FIRST FOUR GAMES. BUT THERE WERE ALSO SEVERAL LATE-IN-THE-GAME SCORES TO CLINCH DRAMATIC WINS. WHAT IS THE FEELING IN THE LOCKER ROOM RIGHT NOW? CP: It hasn’t been pretty the first four weeks. We’ve had one game where I thought we played well. But when you can grind out victories
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Steve Birnbaum (Photo by Tony Quinn)
when you aren’t playing well, that shows the true character of a team. But I wouldn’t say we are happy with just winning ugly.We are always talking improvement. SB: It’s always great to get the win. No matter what, a win’s a win. But it’s tense at the end of a game if its 0-0 and we come out with a late goal. We are elated in the moment though. CP: Might not be so elated reviewing film. SB: Exactly, we realize we have a lot to do to prepare for the next one. WHO DO YOU ADMIRE MOST WITHIN THE D.C. UNITED FRANCHISE? SB: It has to be Ben [Olson] in my opinion. He has such a history with D.C. United, having had a great career here and now as the coach.We go on the field wanting to win for him. He is so passionate about winning because he wants to bring winning to this city, and to the fans he has been around for so long. He has a connection to our fans that I don’t think most coaches have, having played for them not long ago. CP: I was fortunate enough to play with Benny for a year and I saw that passion first hand. It can be tough going from playing with guys to coaching them. But for me, it wasn’t an issue crossing because he demanded that respect as
Chris Pontius (Photo by Tony Quinn)
a player as well. On top of that, he understands what we go through as players and approaches us from that angle. Through my injuries, he would always ask me what I was doing to keep myself happy off the field. He cared for my well being as a person, not just a player. LIGHTNING ROUND BEST NIGHT OUT IN D.C.? CP: We did a thing on Sundays last year, after wins, and we wore cat shirts out. It was a conversation starter. SB: We are looking for ideas for this year. CP: Overalls were thrown out there. LAST BOOK YOU READ? SB: “Scar Tissue” CP: “Kill Shot” by Vince Flynn LAST CONCERT YOU ATTENDED? SB: Concert for Valor. We went together. CP: Steve and I thought we were Eminem .We cleared people out with our rapping. WHO WOULD YOU WANT TO PLAY YOU IN A MOVIE? CP: Mark Wahlberg SB: George Clooney GO-TO “PUMP-UP” SONG? CP: It changes, but right now “Dreaming” by Small Pools SB: Old school rap: Biggie,Tupac, Eminem.
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