The Johnny Russell Appreciation Hour

When the inevitable time comes for Johnny Russell and his heroics to be officially honored as a Sporting KC Legend, our great Scotsman’s portion of that sacred wall will have nothing more than three letters emblazoned upon it.

J  F  R

In SKC’s huge 3-0 win over San Jose last week, Sir Jonathan showed us once again he is, in fact, a legend.

Sporting KC were coming off three weeks of rest and time to reset. It’s the final stretch and they have A LOT of work to do if they want to make the MLS Cup Playoffs. This is gut check time! It’s a time for true warriors.

Johnny was wearing the captain’s armband. Not because he was selected to put it on, but because that magical piece of cloth manifested itself onto it’s rightful owner.

There is simply no time to waste and it took only three minutes for the man no one can understand to set the tone for these final, life-or-death, games. Because that’s what leaders do. It was a goal-worthy assist, curling into the box towards the far post, and it only needed the slightest of touches from Daniel Salloi to find the back of the net. (Or did it?)

Even picking up an injury wasn’t enough to stop him. Johnny beat two defenders, nutmegging one of them, before smashing it home to double the lead. A massive deflection doesn’t matter because winners make things happen.

And Johnny Russell is a winner.

After hobbling his way into the locker room at halftime with a goal and an assist under his belt, one might have expected a sub. But the job wasn’t done. His team needed him on the field to start strong in the second half and lock down the win. So he put back on those shin guards, ran his hands through that glorious beard, and he trotted back there.

Sporting got this resounding win and a major confidence boost on the back of JFR. A bruised and battered, grinding-his-teeth, Johnathan F. Russell.

Johnny is there for you when you need him. And that’s why this episode of Shades of Blue has been declared the Johnny Russell Appreciation Hour!

We cover all things Sporting KC, KC Current, and Messi League Soccer. Plus we dive into the increasingly gross situation with the Royal Spanish Football Federation.

Segment 1 – HUGE win for SKC
Segment 2 – Messi, Current, and Spanish Women’s Team story (14:30)
Segment 3 – STL CITY match and kickball (35:00)

Find the KC Soccer Journal wherever you get your podcasts. Please subscribe, rate, & review! You can yell at Cody @ThatCodyTho, Thad @TheBackpost, and Robert @SpKCLife.

Spotify | Apple