Oh, What A Night (and Atmosphere)

I wrote a piece about four months ago for the KC Soccer Journal called “A Not So Happy Place.” In that piece I wondered what to do when Children’s Mercy Park, a place that had always made me happy, wasn’t like it used to be. What a difference four months makes.

Saturday night, Children’s Mercy Park was a reminder of how being a fan of this team and this sport is a true joy. Don’t get me wrong, this team and the business around it aren’t perfect. We are still below the playoff line. We don’t have a winning record, but sometimes one night, one match can make a fan forget all about that.

Sporting Kansas City welcomed Saint Louis City SC to town this past weekend and it was an incredible night. There were a lot (too many) of St Louis fans in the stadium, but that seemed to just add to the ambience. There have been quite a few standing room only matches over the years, but this one was different. It was a packed crowd. Record breaking in fact.

For the first time ever, #SportingKC reach "fire marshal capacity" 21,650 for a league game. The 4th time KC has reached that capacity (2013 EC final, 2013 MLS Cup, 2021 MLS playoffs).

— Mike (@downthebyline) September 3, 2023

As a Sporting fan for quite a while now, I feel like I have been yearning for a real rivalry for a long time. There have been rivalries in the past, but nothing that felt real for years. The league tried to create rivalries for us, but it just didn’t feel right. But this, this is a real rivalry. The geographic proximity definitely adds to that feeling. Kansas Citians and St. Louisans have a deep-seated rivalry in every aspect of our lives, but nothing spurs a rivalry quite like sports.

Saturday night had everything necessary to make a great atmosphere. Sporting Kansas City players had said that they felt like they need to avenge the 4-0 loss to St. Louis in May. The two teams have been “fighting” all season about who is and isn’t the Soccer Capital of America, Twitter/X has been full of banter between the two fanbases and then we got to the game. Sporting paraded out all of it’s past trophies and played all of the “our history is better than yours” hype videos.

Saturday. Standing-Room-Only. Get your tickets while you still can 🎟️ https://t.co/rsyxUvX1uQ pic.twitter.com/PIvUXdehQ0

— Sporting Kansas City (@SportingKC) August 31, 2023

Flags for both teams were waving pregame, fans for both teams were chanting, the Cauldron unveiled a new tifo and the action on the field was exciting, frantic and somewhat dangerous. Saint Louis City struck first and that sent their fans into manic celebration. I know that around my seats they got a bit too hateful in my personal opinion, but Alan Pulido shut that down with his two goals before halftime.

Thommy's scoop ⤴️ Daniel's cross ➡️ Alan's finish 💥

Watch #SKCvSTL live on @AppleTV 👉 https://t.co/UybeyJo2yK

1-1 #SportingKC pic.twitter.com/5ZHkvzyOUi

— Sporting Kansas City (@SportingKC) September 3, 2023

Jake Davis' second career assist gets Alan Pulido his brace and us the lead!#SportingKC pic.twitter.com/uTXGTYVhcu

— Sporting Kansas City (@SportingKC) September 3, 2023

The goal scoring all happened in the first half, but the fun didn’t stop there (and I’m not talking about the dog show halftime entertainment)!  The crowd stayed hyped throughout the second half. The Saint Louis fans stayed loud and tried to push their team to victory, but it just didn’t happen for them.

The night ended with Sporting fans yelling and flags waving. Confetti was flying. Hugs and high fives were seen around the stadium. Swaying and singing happened in the Cauldron and the team swayed along and danced in celebration. The fanbase and the players were once again on the same page and together.

On this night things went Sporting Kansas City’s way. It was electric. It was beautiful. It was joyful. It was a happy place. Let’s do it all again in a few weeks!