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Tell KCUR: Sporting KC Fans Get A Kick Out of Connection To Team

Livestrong Sporting Park
file photo
/
KCUR
Sporting Park in Kansas City, Kan.

Sporting Kansas City’s personal connection to fans help distinguish the soccer team’s fan experience from other professional teams in Kansas City, our listeners and online audiences tell us.

With Saturday’s Major League Soccer championship matchup between Real Salt Lake and Sporting Kansas City in the MLS Cup, we wanted to know: How is rooting for Sporting Kansas City different than rooting for other pro teams in KC?

We posed the question online and on the air, asking you to Tweet us with the #TellKCUR hashtag  or comment on our Facebook page.

Listeners also called us at 816-235-2881 and told us their fan experiences.

Many of you cited in-person access to the team and its owners in your answers.

"After every game the players walk around the field to clap to the fans in appreciation," Brandi French, of Lee’s Summit, tells us on Facebook.

Another common theme stemmed from Sporting KC’s technology-friendly stadium and the overall stadium experience.

"Being at a Sporting KC game is a lot of intimate intensity from the fans," Matt Watt, of Kansas City, tells us on Facebook. "The cheering and chanting is all so different and more lively and engaging.”  

(For the less-Sporting KC initiated, here’s a guide for wannabe fans.)

You also pointed to Sporting KC’s track record of success and the value of supporting a winning team.

"Shorter history of ineptitude," Jason Noble, a former Kansas City Star reporter who now is in Des Moines, (Twitter: @jasonnobleDMR) tweets us.

Check out some of the other Twitter conversation below.

Tell KCUR is part of a new initiative to engage the community and shine a light on your experiences and opinions. We’ll ask a new question every week and then share your feedback on the air and online.

KCUR serves the Kansas City region with breaking news and award-winning podcasts.
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