In one way or another, with whatever name, I have been involved with the Major League Soccer club in Kansas City since the day after the club offices opened on Broadway across from the Folgers plant in 1995. Though only the past four and a half years have been spent as a team staffer, the construction of LIVESTRONG Sporting Park represents the fulfillment of my wildest dreams as a fan of the team.
Last season, I visited every MLS park for our matches, and I am confident in saying that ours will be the finest facility in the league. The pitch is perfect, with advanced drainage and a Sub-Air heating and cooling system that will keep the playing surface gorgeous in any weather conditions, not to mention after concerts like Farm Aid on August 13th. The organization’s commitment to developing new fan experiences, in concert with the opportunities afforded by the Google Fiber project coming to Wyandotte County, will make ours a stadium unlike any other; it will be great from the get-go, but I’m even more convinced that it will be a dynamic venue, improving with every season like a fine wine or whiskey aged in barrels of innovation.
This has certainly been a time of change; along with the new stadium, there is a new name, and, importantly, the chance for the creation of a new crowd dynamic. In my travels, I came to understand that, in most cities, what we think of as the supporters’ sections were more or less the same. In some cities, they were a bit larger, in others, a bit more organized in their chanting, but by and large, all of the supporters’ sections around the league contributed a great deal to the atmosphere in their venues. The Cauldron, for its part, has grown in leaps and bounds in the past few seasons, and the new Members’ Stand and the Members’ Club found within will foster that growth even further.
Where crowds in MLS stand apart from one another is not by their supporters’ sections, but in the activation of the rest of the stadium. Frankly, in most stadia, the fans that are not in the supporters’ sections tend to be a bit moribund, and our situation hasn’t been too different. The sense of community and mutual enjoyment of the game just aren’t there in the same way, and I believe that’s largely due to a lack of continuity. Unlike with The Cauldron, the people in reserved seats haven’t been as likely to know one another or see each other outside of the stadium. Not that there aren’t exceptions, of course, but two stadium changes plus a lack of outside activities meant that people outside The Cauldron don’t have the same opportunities to get to know one another, come to enjoy watching games with one another, and learn how to celebrate (or commiserate) with one another.
For those of us who have been fans of the team for a long time, this state of affairs has been taken more or less for granted. The beauty of a new stadium, a new name, and lots and lots of new season ticket members is that those new members often have an entirely new perspective, uncalloused by years spent wondering whether or not we’d have a team, or watching the games from an unnatural angle.
This was put into stark relief for me in recent weeks by Christian Sinclair, a new season ticket member with seats in Section 102. In my capacity with the club, I work closely with groups in The Cauldron, and I’m used to trading emails about plans for large flag displays, getting supporters’ clubs together, or hosting watch parties. I’m not used to receiving them from people who aren’t in The Cauldron, and when Christian started asking me how he could start a supporters’ club for his section, organizing flag displays and banners (even using the lingo of supporters by calling such displays “tifo," a reference to “tifosi," the Italian term for supporters’ groups, which has become shorthand for elaborate displays), I’m ashamed to admit that my first reaction was one of something akin to condescension, admiring his pluck and naïveté, but ultimately hoping to let him down gently from his doomed dreams.
Then, I took a look at the other season tickets in his section, and saw that most of them had demographics similar to his, that there was a real chance for community, I know a few of them, and I know that they’d probably be into it, too...it’s just a matter of someone stepping forward and taking the lead. So, I’m sending out an email on his behalf to the other folks in his section. Even if you aren’t in Section 102 (and most of you aren’t), check out the page he has set up on Facebook. Appropriately, Facebook’s new designation for this type of group is, indeed, “Community." Like it, if you want to stay updated. And if this sounds like something you’d like to do with your section, just send me an email, and I’ll be happy to help out.
If you don’t already have plans on Memorial Day weekend, I’d also encourage you to look at going on the road trip to the game against Colorado. There will be a bus going (organized by The Cauldron, but all fans are welcome), there are hotel discounts, and game tickets are free through Sporting’s new membership away game program. There’s no better way to get ready for the new season than to join in on a road trip.
If you’d like to organize a group of those around you, or to get more information about the road trip to Colorado, send me an email. We are all about to share in the finest soccer facility in the country; let’s make sure we enjoy it to the fullest.
