The famous child actor decided to return to his cult movie roots, and 30 years after starring in The Big Green, reignited his passion for soccer
Patrick Renna was a crucial part of countless childhoods in America. First, it was the "Sandlot," the baseball classic in which he played Ham Porter, the misfit catcher who "calls his shot" before bashing a ball.
Then, it was "The Big Green," the soccer cult classic in which Renna, albeit briefly, was the best-worst goalkeeper you've ever seen, being flung into the back of the net by the sheer power of a shot one minute before saving a crucial penalty kick the next.
Kids of the '90s and before will tell you that Renna was always was a guy to which they could relate. His two most famous characters were dorky oddballs, the kind that loved sports but were never really all that good. It's a feeling that the vast majority of the population who aren't professional athletes know all too well.
The childhood actor into grown adult arc has been difficult to manage for many. Renna has handled it well, staying around the baseball community, tapping into the world that embraced him as a teenager. But that soccer part? Well, that's still there, too. And now, it's time for the soccer kid to become the football nerd. Renna is embracing soccer in full.
"I've always actually been interested in soccer. But the big three sports kind of take all your time in America. So soccer, not being one of those big three, not football, baseball, basketball. But what I find the most fun about soccer is the fandom," he told GOAL. "I think that the fans are the best."
GettyFinding a new passion
Renna is keenly aware – albeit with a bit of a sardonic nudge – that he didn't want to become another actor who starts a podcast.
"I've gathered a bit of a social following, and with a social following, you're supposed to do a podcast. But then it's like, you can't do a podcast unless it's something that you're passionate about," he said.
Renna pondered a bit of everything. Politics was a possibility, but that was quickly scrapped.
"The only thing I'm passionate about with regard to politics is that I have no passion, and I don't know what I'm talking about enough," Renna said.
Sports, then, was the natural choice. Basketball and baseball were always options. He has been around the game his whole life, riffing off the movie experience. The fact alone that he appeared for parody baseball team the Savannah Bananas tells you pretty much all you need to know.
Still, there was little juice there. And Renna, if he was going to do something, wanted to broaden his horizons.
Advertisement'The good thing is, our team sucked'
And for that reason, soccer made sense. Renna is a sports fan down to his very core. He has appeared in a cult soccer movie. But his soccer knowledge, in a traditional sense? A little lacking. And with the World Cup coming to North America in 2026, he wanted to understand the game that is soon to arrive on American shores.
His answer? Make a YouTube show with GOAL US, have it poke fun of the fact that he's the American who's trying to get into the beautiful game and call it "Soccer Guy."
"I was like, 'Wait a minute, I would love to learn about a new sport. I would love to learn about the biggest sport in the world.' And that would be fun for me, to make this an exploration and learn something out of this," Renna said, "and get just a new look on life, and take me to places I've never been."
There is, it must be pointed out, some baseline knowledge. Renna, for a start, knows the rules of the game. He understands offsides. He played youth soccer during his upbringing in Massachusetts.
And yes, that acting background did come in handy. He learned enough on the set of The Big Green – with plenty of soccer players-turned-actors – to have, at the very least, a cursory understanding of how the sport works.
"There were several players on that team that were really, really good. There was a handful of us who were actors, and then the rest were probably soccer players first," he said.
It helped, though, that the whole point of the movie was that the team wasn't very good.
"The good thing is, our team sucked. We were like the bad news bears of soccer, so they leaned into that, and the fact that we didn't play well was good for me," Renna joked.
Roarke BoesSold on LAFC experience
But what he lacks, Renna admitted, was a starting point. Soccer is about the culture, the fandom, the experience. Renna is a guy who lives in Los Angeles, loves the Dodgers, but doesn't have a soccer team. So, to get things started, he went to an LAFC game.
He picked a good one, too. LAFC, reborn under Steve Cherundolo and with Son Heung-Min dominating up front, faced off against Real Salt Lake. They trailed early, but bagged two before half time. BMO Stadium, and the 3252 fan group, came to life. LAFC won 4-1. Denis Bouanga bagged three. Son scored one of his own.
Renna was sold.
"The beginning of the game started slow, and then it just ramped up, and LAFC scored like four goals, and it was crazy," he explained.
And the experience as a whole was entirely intoxicating (verging on literally). It started with a tailgate: sizzling tortillas, grilled meat, a michelada in the parking lot (review: "this is good dude!")
Renna interacted with the fans, learned the chants, and chatted with the locals. He walked past murals of Carlos Vela, and had some of the basics of the sport outlined to him.
"It's like basketball, but on a big-ass field," one fan eagerly outlined.
He stood in the 3252, was showered with beer, and sang at full time. He fell in love with the stadium, and was entirely captivated by just how close everything felt.
"Every seat is good. The nosebleed doesn't exist in soccer," Renna said.
Roarke BoesWhere he could turn up next
Renna has nearly 1 million followers on Instagram, and most of them want him to say "You're killing me smalls!" when he runs into them in public. He gets stopped for selfies, and will perhaps forever be the catcher who calls his shot. But this is not an attempt to redefine himself, or discover a new hobby. Renna is past the point of character building.
Rather, Soccer Guy is an excuse to explore an avenue that had always interested him. So, yes, for all of the fun that the LAFC game brought, he was still recognized and stopped for pictures. He is still the dude from the Sandlot.
But that might not be the case in Brazil or Argentina, he admitted. Even in England, he might be able to sneak by unnoticed.
"I don't know about even the Premier League," he said. "It would be a much different experience."
Perhaps that's the point here. His horizons are broadened. He watched LAFC and Austin in the playoffs. He is now a proud LAFC supporter.
And who knows where this Soccer Guy might turn up next?
