Eleven-year MLS veteran Teal Bunburyhas been a core part of the New England Revolution since he joined the squad in 2014, and his accolades on the field speak for themselves. In 2017, he was voted Revolution Players' Player of the Year by his teammates after scoring eight goals in 31 appearances across all competitions. He upped that in 2018 by setting single-season career highs in games played (32), games started (30), minutes played (2,566), goals (11), shots (68), and shots on goal (33).
While you may know all of these statistics about Bunbury on the field, do you know all of these facts about him off the field?
1. Freckles SZN
While the MLS campaign runs from February to November, for Bunbury, all year long is "Freckles" season.
Bunbury has been married to his wife, Kaity, since 2015. However, Bunbury never calls his wife Kaity. In fact, he exclusively refers to her as Freckles. Whether it’s in an interview or talking with his teammates, Bunbury calls his wife this pet name, and everyone without a doubt knows to whom he's referring.
2. Not Blue, Not Green
The Bunburys are now a family of four! Bunbury is the proud dad to two daughters: two-year-old Sienna, and his one-month-old newborn, Shaye.
There is a common, colorful theme among these Bunbury names. Teal is a unique name in itself, and Revs fans have often played off his first name in The Fort’s “Not Blue, Not Green" chant.
Bunbury named his oldest daughter, Sienna, and kept the color sentiment rolling. While teal is in the blue/green section of the crayon box, sienna keeps it warm with her shade of the red, earthy tone.
Even though Shaye is not a color, the baby’s middle name is – Cerise. Cerise is a shade of pink, sitting close in the box to sienna, perhaps symbolizing how close these new sisters will grow to be.
Bonus fact: Bunbury has a fun nickname for his oldest daughter, similar to calling his wife Freckles. He playfully calls Sienna, "Panda."
3. Superstar Siblings
In addition to his wife and two daughters, Bunbury has more star power in his family.
Bunbury’s first-ever friend and favorite actress just happens to be his older sister, Kylie. You may recognize the superstar actress from the movie Game Night, TV mini- series When They See Us, TV series Pitch, along with many other recognizable roles and an upcoming lead in the new series Brave New World, which is premiering later in 2020.
Meanwhile, Bunbury’s younger brother, Logan, is an up-and-coming hip-hop artist. From soccer, to dance, to acting skills, the Bunbury family is stacked with incredible talents.
4. Like Father, Like Son
But wait ... is there any more talent in the Bunbury family? Why yes, yes there is.
Bunbury’s father, Alex, was a professional soccer player in Europe for about a decade … so Bunbury just may have had the footy gene inherently in his blood.
Alex Bunbury is most known for his time spent in Primeira Liga, where he notched 59 goals with Portuguese side C.S. MarÃtimo. It gets better though – Alex Bunbury sits eighth in most appearances (66) and fifth in goals (16) with the Canadian National Team, and he was inducted into Canada’s Soccer Hall of Fame in 2006. The father figure ultimately finished his career in MLS with the Kansas City Wizards, which, in fact, is where his son began his professional career, making Alex and Teal the first-ever father-son combo to play in MLS.
Talk about a family moment that came full circle.
5. Best Buds
If you haven’t figured it out from their children’s play dates and affectionate social media posts, Teal Bunbury and former Revs forward Charlie Davies are best buds.
In addition to their families hanging out, the two often FaceTime, text and talk on the phone. In fact, Davies was even one of Bunbury’s groomsmen in his wedding party.
At the end of the day, though, boys will be boys. Davies often chirps his former teammate and current best friend when talking on the Far Post Podcast, but it’s all in good fun. However, there is one recent moment when Bunbury got back at Davies for some sweet (birthday) revenge.
