In many ways, the 2020 season will be a milestone campaign for Sporting Kansas City. The club will celebrate 25 years as a charter member of Major League Soccer, hit the 20-year anniversary of is first MLS Cup title and play its 10th season in world-class Children's Mercy Park.
Through every twist and turn in team history, few individuals have experienced Sporting's ascension quite like Chief Communications Officer Rob Thomson. A native of Kansas City, Thomson has worked for the club since the inaugural 1996 season, save a brief teaching and coaching stint in the mid-2000s.
Sporting Kansas City as we know it today began as a bare-bones product with the Kansas City Wiz moniker. Similarly, Kansas City's status as a soccer town was only earned after several seasons of pedestrian MLS play at Arrowhead Stadium. Nevertheless, a change to Sporting Club ownership in 2006 ultimately spurred a trophy-laden era of unprecedented success, and Sporting flourished into perennial title contender under Manager Peter Vermes.
Thomson has made nearly the entire run with Kansas City's MLS side, and with that experience comes plenty of great stories about the early days and the exciting rebrand to Sporting. Thomson shares those stories with Josh Klingler in the eighth episode of The Nutmeg Podcast on 610 Sports Radio.
Listen to the full podcast below.
Previous episodes of The Nutmeg Podcast
- Episode 1: Defender Seth Sinovic (Aug. 13)
- Episode 2: Midfielder Gianluca Busio (Aug. 27)
- Episode 3: Goalkeeper Tim Melia (Sept. 10)
- Episode 4: "Kitman" Mike Flaherty (Sept. 24)
- Episode 5: Midfielder Roger Espinoza (Oct. 8)
- Episode 6: Assistant coach Kerry Zavagnin (Oct. 22)
- Episode 7: Defender Jaylin Lindsey (Nov. 5)
