Crew Cut For Kansas
It’s quite ironic that one of the Major Soccer League’s big matches at the weekend saw two of Stoke City’s pre-season opponents in the United States take on each other in Saturday’s encounter before a packed Livestrong Sporting Park.
Unfortunately for Sporting Kansas City though, it didn’t go according to plan as Columbus Crew ran out 2-1 winners with Costa Rican international Josh Williams grabbing both goals in quick succession as the visitors came from behind in the first half to take the points.
The result means that Kansas remain in second place in the Eastern Conference of the MLS, just one point behind leaders New York Red Bulls.
They are looking to win the Eastern Conference Regular Championship for the second successive year after finishing fifth overall in the MLS.
Prior to that triumph, their most notable successes had come in the Western Conference which they won three times in 1997, 2000 and 2004.
Formation As Wiz
Lamar Hunt, the founder member of Major League Soccer, helped to form what was then known as the Kansas City Wizards back in 1995.
They changed their name to the ‘Wizards’ for the highly-successful 1997 season when they captured the West Conference title for the first time.
The club eventually became known as the Sporting Kansas City in November 2010 when they made the switch to the new Livestrong Park Stadium.
In the first eleven years of their existence, they were based at the Arrowhead Stadium which is home to American football played by Kansas City Chiefs.
After a four year period leading a somewhat nomadic lifestyle in which they played at several different venues, they settled into their new home at Livestrong Sporting Park, the 20,000-capacity purpose built stadium for soccer.
Familiar Face
American international Teal Bunbury has been a key figure in the success enjoyed by Sporting Kansas City over the past two seasons . . . and he spent a short period on trial at Stoke City midway through the 2010-11 season.
The 22-year-old striker trained with the Potters squad and scored in a reserve match against Wigan Athletic during that stay.
But he returned to Kansas and has not looked back since then, emerging as a playmaker who operates behind the main striker.
Although born in Canada, Bunbury’s success has led to him winning international recognition with the United States national team.
Colours And Badge
Sporting Kansas City’s official colours are dark indigo and ‘Sporting’ Blue, while the primary logo is composed of a teardrop-shaped shield.
The logo contains a stylised representation of the Kansas-Missouri stateline with the ‘Sporting’ Blue stripes on the Kansas side and an interlocking SC on the Missouri side.
The stateline represents Sporting’s fanbase in both of the Kansas and Missouri metropolitan areas called Kansas City.
The SC for Sporting Club is inspired by Asclepius’ rod representing health and fitness, a Greek god called the Winged Victory of Samothrace, alluding to strength and movement, and to the Spanish architecture of Kansas City’s Country Club Plaza.