Running throughout the season on Sports Radio 810 WHB, the Sporting Kansas City Show is available on several podcast hubs including Spotify and iTunes as well as SportingKC.com/SportingKCShow. With Nate Bukaty, Carter Augustine and Aly Trost hosting the weekly program, Sporting fans have a place to go to catch up on club storylines, guest interviews and more.
Tim Melia was the star of the Sporting Kansas City Show on Tuesday, joining hosts Nate Bukaty, Carter Augustine and Aly Trost for the series' newest episode on Sports Radio 810 WHB.
Melia, of course, has been Sporting's man between the sticks for the better part of five years, having led the club to two Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup titles and four playoff appearances. His 2015 breakout was soon followed by a 2017 campaign that saw him claim MLS Goalkeeper of the Year honors.
Among the several compelling topics discussed on Tuesday was Melia's heroics in the 2015 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Final against the Philadelphia Union. Just four months after permanently securing his first starting role in MLS, the New York native came up big in a thrilling shootout as Sporting edged Philadelphia 7-6 on penalty kicks.
The 2015 Open Cup Final, which will stream at 7 p.m. CT Thursday exclusively on SportingKC.com, remains one of the greatest moments in Melia's heralded career.
"The fact that we had so many fans make that trip to Philadelphia shows the support of our club," Melia said of the traveling Roaddron, which eclipsed 1,000 fans that fateful night at Talen Energy Stadium. "You could hear the Sporting section all game, and that was uplifting and a lot of motivation for the players."
Melia also discussed Sporting's ongoing individual workouts, which have been conducted on a voluntary basis since May 6 at Compass Minerals National Performance Center, as well as Major League Soccer's reported plan to bring all 26 clubs to Orlando for a month-long summertime tournament.
Such a scenario would give players, coaches and fans alike the opportunity to enjoy soccer once more, albeit requiring clubs to "live in a bubble" for up to two months in Central Florida. Melia says MLS and the players union are in ongoing talks about the proposal.
"Everybody wants to play and everyone's chomping at the bit to get back to games," Melia said. "We (as players) are willing to make those sacrifices to benefit the league, our organization and all of the people that work for our organization. At the end of the day, we all want the same thing. For us personally, I need to think about the different scenarios and how they'll affect my family."
Listen to the full podcast above.
