When ºüÀêÊÓƵ City SC fans arrive for Saturday’s road game, they’ll park in what Carlos Restrepo calls “the infamous orange lot,†which is so far from Sporting KC’s stadium, it might as well be in ... actual Kansas City.
Yes, Sporting KC plays in the state of Kansas — or, as ºüÀêÊÓƵ soccer fans spell it, “kansas†— and visiting supporter groups are asked to park in the orange lot (the farthest of all the lots named after colors) to party during pregame.
“It’s about a 30-minute walk,†said Restrepo, the president and founder of the loud and proud group called STL Santos. “But after tailgating, it is quite sobering — literally.
“... But even all that kind of becomes a tradition, like, ‘Hey, we’re going to park at the orange lot — who’s bringing the corn on the cob and the tacos?’ That’s just kind of fun. We’re just forming the traditions.â€
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Indeed, in Year 1, the Major League Soccer rivalry between ºüÀêÊÓƵ and Kansas City birthed traditions, as well as trash talk and trademarks.
But now in Year 2 — City plays at Sporting KC at 7:30 p.m. Saturday — the rivalry is at another level. Because not only does ºüÀêÊÓƵ dislike that team in general, but that team also ended ºüÀêÊÓƵ’ season in the playoffs.
Sure, the best thing that could’ve happened to the rivalry itself was that ºüÀêÊÓƵ played those guys in the playoffs. But the worst thing that could’ve happened, well, happened. ºüÀêÊÓƵ, after winning two of the three regular-season meetings, lost both postseason games. It was a nightmarish end to a dream season.
So here we go. Rivalry 2.0. This is pretty cool that ºüÀêÊÓƵ fans get to be a part of something like this. After all, some MLS rivalries are forced or are just lopsided. This one is, to use the European word for a soccer rivalry, a true “derby†(incidentally, that word is pronounced “darby,†so let’s please call the ºüÀêÊÓƵ-Kansas City rivalry “The Darbecue.â€)
“In rivalries, you have heightened emotion, heightened passion — it just feels like there’s more on the line,†said second-year City SC player Indiana Vassilev on Wednesday. “It means so much to our fans — and it means a lot to us as players — but when you bring your fans into it, it almost heightens it to a point where it’s just so much emotion and so much passion that it’s almost hard to, like, contain yourself.
“You have that circled on the schedule. Those are the two on the schedule where it’s like — we need to show up in those games. ... We played them a lot last year. And to be fair to them, listen, they knocked us out of playoffs, which still feels like salt in the wound. Because not only did we get knocked out, but we got knocked out by the guys who are our biggest rival. So it wasn’t nice. Didn’t feel nice. So yeah, we’re going to be going there with a lot of — what’s the right word I want to use here? I’ll just say: energy.â€
It was Vassilev, in the first-ever matchup, who scored two goals in the 4-0 City win last May. After the game, he wore a sweatshirt that screamed the word: CITY. And he announced to the media: “ºüÀêÊÓƵ City — soccer capital of the U.S.†It was perfect punctuation to a buildup. In the spring of 2023, Sporting KC actually sent a cease-and-desist letter to a ºüÀêÊÓƵ fan podcast because the podcast’s name included the phrase “Soccer Capital.â€
As we know, here in the land of Trost and Twellman and Sorber and Sauerbrunn, if there was any city in the country (let alone the Midwest) that could claim itself as the “Soccer Capital,†it’s ºüÀêÊÓƵ.
“Unlike kansas,†ºüÀêÊÓƵ soccer super-fan Abby Ferguson sent in an email Wednesday, “we don’t have to prove what kind of soccer town we are because our history speaks for itself. It’s in our DNA. ... ºüÀêÊÓƵ is an incredibly proud CITY and we’ll always defend our own. So when kansas decided to come for the ‘soccer Capital of the US’ title, it added gasoline to an already flaming fire. ...
“ºüÀêÊÓƵ and Kansas City have been rivals for many years including the I-70 series between the Cardinals and Royals. Now we get to show our pride on the pitch, and it helps to know that our ‘Ravioli Boyz’ have embraced the rivalry, because they understand what’s at stake.â€
Yes, some fans refer to ºüÀêÊÓƵ City SC as the “Ravioli Boyz.â€
And on Saturday, hundreds of City fans will drive past Kansas City and across the border for The Darbecue.
Restrepo said about 100 members of his group will arrive. He pointed out that some Sporting KC fans took the train last season from Kansas City to ºüÀêÊÓƵ’ Union Station, but “we can’t take the train, because they’re not really in Kansas City.â€
And even if he has to park in the infamous orange lot, he’s fired up about the both the pregame and the game. At this point in the young season, ºüÀêÊÓƵ is holding onto the eighth and final playoff spot with 11 points, while, of all teams, Sporting KC is ninth with 10 points.
“It’s funny because I think there are two layers to the rivalry,†Restrepo said. “There’s the layer that PR marketing teams are pushing. So there were all the videos back and forth — and then there was all the soccer capital stuff and that added a little bit to the rivalry. But I think really what made the rivalry interesting was that the teams were fun to watch when they played against each other. Both teams really come out with a hunger to win that game — and you can see it. I think that’s really where the rivalry comes from. It’s from the game itself. You know, everything else is kind of dressing.â€