These are moments fans want to remember forever, said Jesse Phouangphet, unpacking a just-arrived box of Kansas City jerseys emblazoned with a MADE MOBB crest and the colors of Argentina’s national football team.
The Crossroads-built streetwear team officially dropped the jerseys in-store Tuesday as crowds of Argentina fans swelled throughout the city ahead of the day’s nighttime match against Algeria at Kansas City Stadium.
They’ve already gone viral with fans clamoring to get their hands on the new pieces before they’ve even hit store racks.
“In MADE MOBB fashion, we make a lot of quick decisions,” said Phouangphet, co-owner of MADE MOBB, which in May released about a dozen World Cup-inspired jerseys ahead of the games and an expected influx of visitors. “A few weeks ago, we realized we had a blue jersey, but not something that could really represent Argentina directly — like a reference to the blue and white.”
“With the success of our other jerseys, pulling the trigger on the defending champs was a no-brainer,” he added, noting the Argentina jersey fits the brand’s streetwear style, but features more of a cropped design than others in the collection.
It first caught fans’ attention Monday night when Phouangphet took a few pieces to the Argentine fan rally on the Country Club Plaza — a gathering that quickly caught the attention of local fans and media, turning into a massive Kansas City World Cup moment.
“The energy on the Plaza was just so insane, the chanting … it just felt like that championship energy. It’s a feeling we know in Kansas City,” he said. “But instead of it being a city of champions, it felt like a whole country of champions.”
The MADE MOBB crew tossed one of their jerseys to a fan who wasn’t wearing blue and white.
“Everyone loved it — because it represented them with the colors and look, but it represents us, and Kansas City, at the same time,” Phouangphet said. “At the end of the day, this is going to be a keepsake they take back home. Immediately we had people coming up to us and saying ‘Where can I get this?’”
“We knew we hit the mark again.”
The fans-first piece is for sale only at the MADE MOBB storefront at 221 Southwest Blvd., as well as at the brand’s booth within the City of Entrepreneurs marketplace at Union Station.
MADE MOBB also partnered with the official Argentine watch party at the Uptown Theater — and released two exclusive shirts Tuesday at Alta Joda Fest during the Argentina-Algeria match.
Another shirt referencing Argentina’s star player, Lionel Messi, also dropped Tuesday at MADE MOBB.
“It represents Messi in Miami; and it’s lighter-weight, pink, very vibrant,” said Phouangphet, voicing optimism that his experiences so far with fans — especially the energetic Argentine crowd — will continue to meld cultures in line with MADE MOBB’s brand.
“Having an opportunity to party with our neighbors — and people from around the world in Kansas City — is amazing,” he continued.
Following the Argentine rally on the Plaza, Phouangphet rode a packed KC Streetcar back to the Crossroads with visiting fans, he said.
They all got off together and started walking west toward Café Corazón — a rallying point for the Argentine community thanks to the efforts of Dulcinea Herrera and her family, who led the coffee shop and cultural hub to a victory this spring as the KC Chamber’s Small Business of the year.
As the crowd of revelers around the business grew Monday night, Phouangphet and others worried police would push them away. Instead, he recalled, members of the Kansas City Police Department blocked off the streets and kept the party going.
“They let us be within the culture and represent, and just have fun,” Phouangphet said. “This is definitely a moment to stop and take it all in.”
This story was originally published by Startland News, a fellow member of the KC Media Collective.
