The Legend of Jorstian Mordan

There is great power in stories and legends, and the legend of Jorstian Mordan is as ancient as any other passed on from one person to the next. Now, literally speaking, this legend really only dates back to 2016, but at its heart Jorstian Mordan is more than just the two men who together comprise the whole. The pure and shining core of Jorstian Mordan, the reason that it resonates with each person that comes in contact with it, is friendship.

It’s the kind of bond that forms out of shared goals and values, strengthened by both joy and hardship, and made eternal through shared accomplishments.

The latest shared accomplishment in this particular bond came when United States men’s national team head coach Gregg Berhalter named his 26-player squad for the 2022 World Cup. Jordan Morris and Cristian Roldan had both been around the edges of the squad in the lead-up to the tournament, and there was some doubt about their place in the squad after a 2022 MLS season that saw the two lift the Concacaf Champions League trophy as the Seattle Sounders became the first MLS club to win the tournament, but both had down seasons individually for one reason or another. Still, when Berhalter announced his squad earlier this month, both players were named as part of the group that would represent the USMNT in Qatar. Jorstian Mordan, finally, is going worldwide.

Now, before we get the chance to see these two players on the world’s biggest stage, it’s worth looking back at where the portmanteaunym came from.

Back in 2016, Roldan was a second-year player growing into his own and Jordan Morris was a much-hyped rookie Homegrown Player who had spent three years at Stanford and already gotten a look with the USMNT. The two seemed to hit it off, having had some degree of history from Pac-12 encounters when Morris was at Stanford and Roldan was at UW.

The two were often spotted together at events, and were vocal in their support and appreciation for each other. It was enough to create a spark of inspiration for Beth Mantle, AKA Queen of Cascadia, she of two-pole fame.

While the name immediately gained traction among the Sounders fanbase during that 2016 season, which culminated in the Sounders winning the club’s first MLS Cup, it took a leap the following Summer when the two players were called up to the national team for the 2017 Gold Cup. With the seeds sown in the season prior, Jorstian Mordan was now, truly, on a national stage.

Roldan’s minutes were limited in the tournament, playing only 90 minutes as he went the full distance in the US’s group stage game against Martinique — a game in which Morris had a brace — his best bud had a bit more influence as he ultimately scored the winner against Jamaica in the Gold Cup Final.

In the years since, the two players have had their own ups and downs, they’ve been in and out of the USMNT picture, but their friendship has remained strong. They’ve entered new chapters in their own lives, and now they get to enter a new one in their lives together. That new chapter begins in earnest tomorrow, as Jorstian Mordan and the USMNT face Wales in their first game of the tournament at 11 AM. Hopefully, with any luck, they’ll get a chance to show the world why we love them so much.