Sporting Kansas City goalkeeper Tim Melia can鈥檛 come up with a save on a shot by City SC midfielder Celio Pompeu to make the score 2-1 in favor of Sporting in the second half of Game 2 of an MLS playoff series on Sunday, Nov. 5, 2023, at Children鈥檚 Mercy Park in Kansas City, Kan.
When 狐狸视频 City SC fans arrive for Saturday鈥檚 road game, they鈥檒l park in what Carlos Restrepo calls 鈥渢he infamous orange lot,鈥 which is so far from Sporting KC鈥檚 stadium, it might as well be in ... actual Kansas City.
Yes, Sporting KC plays in the state of Kansas 鈥 or, as 狐狸视频 soccer fans spell it, 鈥渒ansas鈥 鈥 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.
鈥淚t鈥檚 about a 30-minute walk,鈥 said Restrepo, the president and founder of the loud and proud group called STL Santos. 鈥淏ut after tailgating, it is quite sobering 鈥 literally.
鈥... But even all that kind of becomes a tradition, like, 鈥楬ey, we鈥檙e going to park at the orange lot 鈥 who鈥檚 bringing the corn on the cob and the tacos?鈥 That鈥檚 just kind of fun. We鈥檙e just forming the traditions.鈥
Indeed, in Year 1, the Major League Soccer rivalry between 狐狸视频 and Kansas City birthed traditions, as well as trash talk and trademarks.
But now in Year 2 鈥 City plays at Sporting KC at 7:30 p.m. Saturday 鈥 the rivalry is at another level. Because not only does 狐狸视频 dislike that team in general, but that team also ended 狐狸视频鈥 season in the playoffs.
Sure, the best thing that could鈥檝e happened to the rivalry itself was that 狐狸视频 played those guys in the playoffs. But the worst thing that could鈥檝e happened, well, happened. 狐狸视频, 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 狐狸视频 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 鈥渄erby鈥 (incidentally, that word is pronounced 鈥渄arby,鈥 so let鈥檚 please call the 狐狸视频-Kansas City rivalry 鈥淭he Darbecue.鈥)
鈥淚n rivalries, you have heightened emotion, heightened passion 鈥 it just feels like there鈥檚 more on the line,鈥 said second-year City SC player Indiana Vassilev on Wednesday. 鈥淚t means so much to our fans 鈥 and it means a lot to us as players 鈥 but when you bring your fans into it, it almost heightens it to a point where it鈥檚 just so much emotion and so much passion that it鈥檚 almost hard to, like, contain yourself.
鈥淵ou have that circled on the schedule. Those are the two on the schedule where it鈥檚 like 鈥 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鈥檛 nice. Didn鈥檛 feel nice. So yeah, we鈥檙e going to be going there with a lot of 鈥 what鈥檚 the right word I want to use here? I鈥檒l just say: energy.鈥
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: 鈥満晔悠 City 鈥 soccer capital of the U.S.鈥 It was perfect punctuation to a buildup. In the spring of 2023, Sporting KC actually sent a cease-and-desist letter to a 狐狸视频 fan podcast because the podcast鈥檚 name included the phrase 鈥淪occer Capital.鈥
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 鈥淪occer Capital,鈥 it鈥檚 狐狸视频.
鈥淯nlike kansas,鈥 狐狸视频 soccer super-fan Abby Ferguson sent in an email Wednesday, 鈥渨e don鈥檛 have to prove what kind of soccer town we are because our history speaks for itself. It鈥檚 in our DNA. ... 狐狸视频 is an incredibly proud CITY and we鈥檒l always defend our own. So when kansas decided to come for the 鈥榮occer Capital of the US鈥 title, it added gasoline to an already flaming fire. ...
鈥満晔悠 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 鈥楻avioli Boyz鈥 have embraced the rivalry, because they understand what鈥檚 at stake.鈥
Yes, some fans refer to 狐狸视频 City SC as the 鈥淩avioli Boyz.鈥
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 狐狸视频鈥 Union Station, but 鈥渨e can鈥檛 take the train, because they鈥檙e not really in Kansas City.鈥
And even if he has to park in the infamous orange lot, he鈥檚 fired up about the both the pregame and the game. At this point in the young season, 狐狸视频 is holding onto the eighth and final playoff spot with 11 points, while, of all teams, Sporting KC is ninth with 10 points.
鈥淚t鈥檚 funny because I think there are two layers to the rivalry,鈥 Restrepo said. 鈥淭here鈥檚 the layer that PR marketing teams are pushing. So there were all the videos back and forth 鈥 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 鈥 and you can see it. I think that鈥檚 really where the rivalry comes from. It鈥檚 from the game itself. You know, everything else is kind of dressing.鈥
