For the Glory KC Chad and Sheena Smith

S3E20 - For the Glory KC is back with the 85th episode of the show!

Sporting Kansas City keep disappointing us. This time, it was a 3-2 loss on the road against Austin FC. Peter Vermes made a big deal about "effort" and "mentality" after last week's loss against the Houston Dynamo, but the changes to the lineup were minimal.

Sheena and I discuss what we thought was going to happen versus what happened and how things played out. Did the new starters play glorious or did the wrong people find their way to the bench? The only changes were Erik Thommy, Robert Castellanos and Zorhan Bassong staring while Willy Agada, Robert Volder and Tim Leibold found themselves benched. Peter thinks the effort is good though.

Then we couldn't avoid our chance to play Fantasy Sporting Director as the salaries for Sporting KC were released and there are a lot of questionable contracts on the list. Sheena managed to limit the amount of blackmail accusations, but we both have strong opinions about who is being paid too much and just a little on who is underpaid. 

The Kansas City Current couldn't lift us out of the doldrums as they gave up a late lead in an extended amount of stoppage time against Racing Louisville. 112 minutes were played in a 90-minute game, so we look at if that time was justified and what could have been done differently to hold on to the lead. But hey, at least the KC Current are still unbeaten! Plus, a ball almost got into the Missouri River.

In the Digital Crawl, we hit a few topics, including:


Nashville SC are the first in MLS to fire a coach
SKC II update
Another Marco Reus rumor
Raquino! 
and what is going on with the Tulsa Athletic

Here is a rundown of topics (and approximate start times):


Sporting KC lose yet again - 6:19
SKC/MLS Salaries Released - 27:51
KC Current draw late - 1:05:09
Digital Crawl - 1:21:21

Upcoming Schedule:


Sporting KC vs FC Tulsa, Tuesday, May 21st @ 7:30 PM CDT
KC Current at Utah Royals, Saturday, May 25th @ 9:30 PM
Sporting KC at Portland, Saturday, May 25th @ 9:30 PM 
SKC II off this week

Spotify took away our ads, so we turned on "Listener Support." Don't feel obligated, but if you have a few spare bucks and are a fan of the pod, we'd appreciate your donation.

Big thanks to Splitter Conspiracy (listen to them here) for our theme music made with the permission of the KC Cauldron.


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S3E19 - For the Glory KC is back with the 84th episode of the show!

Sporting Kansas City just keep tumbling. They are down to 12th place in the Western Conference, just a single point ahead of 13th and 14th placed San Jose Earthquakes and the Portland Timbers. They got there with a 2-1 loss to the Houston Dynamo on Saturday night.

Sheena and I set out to try and figure out what is wrong. I have a theory that they actually need to go away from the 4-2-3-1 formation and back to the 4-3-3. Folks get tired of that formation, but the 4-2-3-1 is not working! They haven't won a single game in five tries rolling it out. Let's recap:


We first saw it against the LA Galaxy and blew a 2-0 lead to lose 3-2
Then again against Portland and blew a 3-0 lead to tie 3-3
Lost to Inter Miami in this formation
Tied St. Louis 3-3
Lost to Minnesota United

We talked about the outstanding performances of Memo Rodriguez and a lot of middling performances all around the roster. Peter Vermes agreed in his post-match press conference. There was a lot of discussion around a "change in mentality." Vermes said, "its' not all the guys, it's quite of few of the guys though." He also called the Houston goals "atrocious" and "amateur, at best." And above all else, he said a lot of players lacked effort. There was talk in benching players, suffering and so many other topics in a short seven-minute presser. Daniel Salloi gave some tough interviews in the locker room too. 

We try to figure out who lacked effort and who is going to get benched, and there are a lot of potential candidates. We also discuss briefly the 120-minute win over Union Omaha to advance in the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup to face FC Tulsa in the Round of 16.

Thankfully, we still have the Kansas City Current. While they only mustered out a draw Wednesday on incredibly short rest and travel nightmares against Vlatko's former team, the Seattle Reign, they won again on Sunday against the North Carolina Courage.

In the Digital Crawl, we hit a few topics, including:


Espinoza and Zusi are back... sort of.
SKC are the 41st most valuable franchise in the world
And a bunch of other stuff covered in this story
Bia, Chawinga and DiBernardo earn NWSL honors
Neil McGuinness is the new LAFC Technical Director (but SKC only could find Gavin Wilkinson?)
14-year-old Cavan Sullivan is one to watch

Here is a rundown of topics (and approximate start times):


Northern Lights - 1:38
Sporting KC lost at home again - 5:20
Vermes post-game Presser after Houston - 21:59
SKC (barely) advance in the US Open Cup - 43:37
KC Current have another solid week - 50:11
Digital Crawl - 1:04:01

Upcoming Schedule:


Sporting KC at Austin FC, Saturday, May 18th @ 7:30 PM CST
KC Current vs. Racing Louisville, Saturday, May 18th @ 8:30 PM

Spotify took away our ads, so we turned on "Listener Support." Don't feel obligated, but if you have a few spare bucks and are a fan of the pod, we'd appreciate your donation.

Big thanks to Splitter Conspiracy (listen to them here) for our theme music made with the permission of the KC Cauldron.


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Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/fortheglorykc/message
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S3E18 - For the Glory KC is back with the 83rd episode of the show! 

Sporting Kansas City are now winless in five straight. Heading into the Real Salt Lake game, it never really felt like they were going to win, but they kept it close for a long time. There were six changes to the lineup, as well as four subs used. The offense wasn't clicking but John Pulskamp nearly came through with some hero ball.

Sheena and I weigh in on that lineup choices, all the missing players for illness (Radoja) and injury (Rosero and Walter). Plus, is this the last we'll see of Marinos Tzionis? It felt like he was setup to fail playing out of position with zero minutes in MLS or MLS Next Pro this year.

One of my favorites, Alenis Vargas, has some answering to do for that performance against RSL. I advocate for the 'kids' all the time, but this was a terrible shift from Vargas that might see him relegated back to SKC II or the proverbial Vermes 'doghouse.'

And we absolutely can't avoid talking about this bizarre situation between Daniel Salloi and Brayan Vera.

It wasn't all downer news around Sporting KC though. Jake Davis signed a long-term contract extension, which is a welcome addition. And it seems really likely that Alan Pulido took a pay cut, which is a big deal.

The Kansas City Current nearly lifted our weekend up before a four-hour delay in the game and a fluky second half goal that allowed the Houston Dash to draw level. Despite the Current outshooting the Dash 29-8, including 14-3 with shots on goal, they couldn't pull off a win and find themselves at least temporarily out of first place looking up at the Orlando Pride.

The way the rain delay was handled and the scheduling nightmare it has left the Current in was the ire of Vlatko Andonovski in the post-game press conference. We have thoughts!

Included in the game discussion on the broadcast was the news that Gabby Robinson may be getting a look for the United States Women's National Team. Go Gabby!

In the Digital Crawl, we hit a few topics, including:


Sporting KC II fall short against North Texas, but win awards for April
The 2027 Women's World Cup isn't coming to the US or Mexico
Plus: The Columbus Crew advance in CCC, Kelley O'hara plans to retire and more

Here is a rundown of topics (and approximate start times):


Sporting KC lose to RSL - 4:18
Jake Davis signs a new contract - 41:18
Alan Pulido may have taken a pay cut - 43:59
KC Current vs. the Houston Dash and the weather - 47:57
KC Comets come up just short - 1:16:54
Digital Crawl - 1:23:00

Upcoming Schedule:


Sporting KC at Union Omaha - Wednesday, May 8th @ 7:00 PM CT
KC Current at Seattle Reign - Wednesday, May 8th @ 9:00 PM 
Sporting KC vs. Houston Dynamo - Saturday, May 11th @ 7:30 PM
Sporting KC II vs. Colorado Rapids 2 - Sunday, May 12th @ 2:00 PM
KC Current vs. North Carolina Courage - Sunday, May 12th @ 5:00 PM

Spotify took away our ads, so we turned on "Listener Support." Don't feel obligated, but if you have a few spare bucks and are a fan of the pod, we'd appreciate your donation.

Big thanks to Splitter Conspiracy (listen to them here) for our theme music made with the permission of the KC Cauldron.


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Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/fortheglorykc/message
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S3E17 - For the Glory KC is back with the 82nd episode of the show!

Sporting Kansas City are officially 10 games into their 2024 season and it's a benchmark that Peter Vermes likes to focus on. The team is 2-3-5 (11 points) and sitting in 10th place. It's better than last season, but that's an incredibly low bar to clear.

We asked Peter Vermes how he felt about where the team was, and his answers left something to be desired. My colleague Jimmy Mack Tweeted out the quotes.

Sheena and I weigh in the quotes, the play against Minnesota United FC in the 2-1 loss and the rumor from Taylor Twellman that signings are coming in the summer and where we'd like to see those signings. Oh, and we have to talk about this meme-worthy image and subsequent work from Offside Modeling that confirmed it was onside.

The Kansas City Current thankfully brought us happier things to talk about in their 3-1 come-from-behind win over Angel City FC in Los Angeles on Friday night. Plus, we went to Game One of the KC Comets attempt to win the Ron Newman Cup in the MASL Final on Sunday afternoon. Game two is Tuesday.

In the Digital Crawl, we hit a few topics, including:


The new KC Current development around the stadium
Dom Dwyer signing with the Oakland Roots
The Major of Indianapolis Talking MLS Expansion
Former KC player signings in MLS and the USL Super League

Here is a rundown of topics (and approximate start times):


Our Experience with the MASL Finals and the KC Comets - 2:03
Sporting KC lose to MIN - 8:28
Taylor Twellman says SKC signings are coming - 46:22
The KC Current make a Big Comeback - 53:03
It’s not all good news around the Current - 1:07:57
Errors and Corrections are back - 1:12:20
Digital Crawl - 1:17:19

Upcoming Schedule:


KC Comets at Chihuahua Savage - Tuesday, April 30 @ 9:05 PM CT
Sporting KC at Real Salt Lake - Saturday, May 4th @ 8:30 PM 
KC Current at Houston Dash - Sunday, May 5th @ 12:00 PM 
Sporting KC II host North Texas SC - Sunday, May 5th @ 6:00 PM

Spotify took away our ads, so we turned on "Listener Support." Don't feel obligated, but if you have a few spare bucks and are a fan of the pod, we'd appreciate your donation.

Big thanks to Splitter Conspiracy (listen to them here) for our theme music made with the permission of the KC Cauldron.


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S3E16 - For the Glory KC is back with the 81st episode of the show! Sort of...

[This is a weird request, but if this is the first time you've ever listened to the podcast, don't. There are some audio issues, and I wouldn't want to leave you with a bad impression. Sheena and I's audio tracks are out of sync and I'm responding to things she said, but she hasn't said them yet because of a delay. We recorded on Sunday night, and she hasn't had time to re-record. We polled Twitter and they said release it, so here you go!]

Sporting Kansas City ended their homestand leaving us wanting more. We commiserated on what went wrong on the goals as well as what went right on the ones Sporting KC scored. But we simply can't avoid discussing Peter Vermes' somewhat stunning postgame comments after the draw against St. Louis City SC. He either thinks the media, or the fans, are too worried about not closing out games. But he isn't worried. Wild! We have thoughts!

Then, much like PV snuck into his presser, Sporting KC were playing against more than just St. Louis City. He didn't say it, but he meant the referees. It was one of the worst officiated games in recent memory. Alan Chapman called ticky tack fouls early, nothing for a huge stretch, then back to the ticky tack at the end. Inconsistent. 21 fouls to St. Louis. No yellows during the run of play. No persistent infringement. Either let them be physical or don't.

And Taylor Twellman, noted St. Louis native, and about everyone else who isn't a St. Louis mark thought this Klauss challenge on Willy Agada was a foul. But Chapman saw nothing in it, immediately calling it shoulder to shoulder, and a goal was scored right after.

I will say, this gif some St. Louis fan made was pretty amazing.

Thanks goodness there are other KC soccer teams though. The Kansas City Current continued their winning ways with a 5-2 thrashing of Bay FC. Sheena has found her favorite KC Current player and it's an embarrassment of riches on that talented team. In sad news from the game, Alex Loera announced she tore her ACL against her former club and will miss the rest of the season.

In the Digital Crawl, we hit a few topics, including:


When Sporting KC can sign players next
SKC's trip to Union Omaha for the US Open Cup
Ozzie Cisneros going out on loan
SKC II's game and a signing
Loera's ACL tear

Here is a rundown of topics (and approximate start times):


I Refereed a game! - 2:08
SKC/St. Louis atmosphere, chants, tifos and a draw - 6:10
Peter Vermes thinks we’re too worried about the blown leads - 22:49
PRO: Consistently Inconsistent - 34:34
Kortne Ford retires - 47:16
Thank God for the KC Current - 50:39
Competing KC soccer events - 1:04:26
What is the MLS Icon rule? - 1:10:24
Digital Crawl - 1:13:15

Upcoming Schedule:


KC Current at Angel City FC - Friday, April 26th @ 9:00 PM
Sporting KC at Minnesota United - Saturday, April 27th @ 7:30 PM
KC Comets vs. Chihuahua Savage - Sunday, April 28th @ 4:05 PM

Spotify took away our ads, so we turned on "Listener Support." Don't feel obligated, but if you have a few spare bucks and are a fan of the pod, we'd appreciate your donation.

Big thanks to Splitter Conspiracy (listen to them here) for our theme music made with the permission of the KC Cauldron.


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Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/fortheglorykc/message
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S3E15 - For the Glory KC is back with the 80th episode of the show!

I'm not sure if you heard, but Sporting Kansas City were out here setting records last night. 72,610 fans were in attendance inside Arrowhead stadium to witness Sporting KC take on Lionel Messi and friends on Inter Miami CF. The end result was a loss, but were there 'wins' to be had?

On this week's episode, Sheena talks about her experience in the stands contrasting to my experience from behind the scenes and in the press box. From the atmosphere to the amount of pink/Messi jerseys, there were a lot of off the field items to discuss.

But it wouldn't be a For the Glory KC if we don't actually talk about the soccer. We get into the 'only three mistakes,' according to Peter Vermes that Sporting KC made, to the things that went very right and all the in between stuff.

There is talk about a goalkeeper change. A change at striker (Sheena wants to go pretty far here). Subpar refereeing from Victor Rivas. Remi Walter in a walking boot and an update on his status. Pitch invaders. And we can't avoid the problem with Sporting KC dropping points, particularly at home.

After the game, there is a bit rumor that came out this week from The Athletic. Fairly substantial rule changes could be coming to Major League Soccer. Weirdly the rules look to be changing this summer, mid-season. I'll explain what they are and start to get into out Sporting KC can potentially benefit. Come back to the KC Soccer Journal later this week for a deeper look at that possibility and a robust explainer if you are into that sort of thing.

Then we switch over to talk about the Kansas City Current's first non-win of the season as they held on for a draw against NJ/NY Gotham.

In the Digital Crawl, we go longer on fewer topics:


USWNT winning the SheBelieves Cup
Could the Swope Park Rangers return?
Did SKC handle the 'retro' aspect of the SKC/Miami game well?

Here is a rundown of topics (and approximate start times):


Getting on Channel 5 News - 1:26
The Atmosphere - 3:33
Messi Jersey Exchanges - 17:18
Sporting KC drop all three against Miami - 20:54
Vermes Out? - 1:00:37
New, semi-large rules changes are coming to MLS - 1:01:57
KC Current’s perfect season ends - 1:12:26
Digital Crawl - 1:21:01

Upcoming Schedule:


KC Comets @ Utica City FC, Monday, April 15th at 5:00 PM CT (CBS Sports Golazo Network)
KC Current vs. Bay FC, Saturday, April 20th at 6:30 PM
Sporting KC vs. St. Louis City, Saturday, April 20th at 7:30 PM

Spotify took away our ads, so we turned on "Listener Support." Don't feel obligated, but if you have a few spare bucks and are a fan of the pod, we'd appreciate your donation.

Big thanks to Splitter Conspiracy (listen to them here) for our theme music made with the permission of the KC Cauldron.


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Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/fortheglorykc/message
Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/fortheglorykc/support