You may know him as Dani Rojas — the endlessly enthusiastic, "Football is life!" chanting striker from Apple TV+'s beloved series Ted Lasso. But Cristo Fernandez is no longer just playing a footballer on television. The Mexican actor has signed a professional contract with El Paso Locomotive FC, the USL Championship club right here in the Sun City, making his lifelong dream of playing professional soccer a genuine reality.
The story is one of those feel-good moments that transcends the sport itself. Fernandez, who captured hearts worldwide through his portrayal of the lovable Dani Rojas, has always had deep roots in the game. Before his acting career took off, football was very much a part of his identity — but a significant knee injury threatened to derail any aspirations of playing at a professional level. That setback, however, never killed the dream.
Now, after years of portraying a pro footballer on one of the most popular sports-themed shows in recent memory, Fernandez gets to live that role off-screen. Signing with El Paso Locomotive FC — a respected second-tier organization competing in the USL Championship — is no ceremonial gesture. It places him in a legitimate professional environment where the competition is real and the stakes genuinely matter.
For El Paso soccer fans, this signing carries a unique kind of electricity. The Locomotive have worked hard to build a passionate local fanbase and establish themselves as one of USL's more recognizable brands. Adding a figure with Fernandez's global profile — someone who has arguably done more to introduce soccer to casual American audiences than almost any marketing campaign in recent years — brings a spotlight to the club that extends well beyond the pitch.
For the broader US soccer community, the story resonates on multiple levels. Ted Lasso is widely credited with bringing millions of new fans into the soccer world, breaking down the cultural resistance some Americans still had toward the sport. Fernandez was a key part of that cultural bridge. Now, seeing him step into a real locker room, lace up his boots in a real stadium, and compete in a real league adds a full-circle quality to a story that fans across the country can genuinely appreciate.
It also serves as a reminder of what makes soccer so universal — the idea that the love of the game doesn't expire, and that persistence in the face of adversity, whether on a streaming show or in real life, still has the power to inspire. Dani Rojas always said football is life. Turns out, Cristo Fernandez meant every word of it.