Sporting KC Supporters Chant "I Believe That We Will Win” In Unison; Chant Manifests Itself Into Truth In Delightful 4-1 Win Over Austin FC
Purchasing general admission tickets for the match on StubHub unknowingly placed us in the "Supporters” area (which forbids opposing team colors). This pretty much locked us into rooting for Sporting KC. We didn't mind as the atmosphere was incredible.
Four Nomadic Hippies' Fútbol Is Life National Tour
Match Three: MLS Regular Season (6/10/23)
Location: Kansas City (Children's Mercy Park)
Match Score: Sporting KC (4) Austin FC (1)
4NH Team: Sporting KC
4NH Fan Record: 2-1-0
4NH Human Of The Match: Alan Pulido
Alan Pulido came ready to play against Austin FC and had a truly impressive match (two goals and one assist). Back playing in 2023 (after sitting out 2022 with a knee injury), Alan is returning to form and sparking a resurgence of Sporting KC,
At age 32, Pulido may certainly be in the back half of his career, but it seems he still possesses the skill to be a top player for Sporting KC (and in the MLS for that matter) for the next few seasons. Alan had a hand in all of Sporting KC's first three goals, which put the match out of reach fairly early.
Alan victimized Austin F.C. goalie Brad Struver for the first goal of the night in the 19' with a right-footed shot from the center of the box to the bottom right corner off a corner kick. After assisting on Robert Castellanos' goal in the 47' to put the Wiz up 2-0, Pulido struck again in the 57' with a right-footed shot from close range to the bottom left off the pass from Tim Leibold.
Heavily based on his efforts in this match, Pulido won the MLS Player of the Month Award in June 2023. He scored six goals and chipped in an assist over five games during the month.
4NH Fav Of The Match: Alan Pulido
A basic bit of research about Alan Pulido will produce an interesting fact. He was kidnapped in Mexico in 2016 but was able to free himself after being held for over 24 hours and calling for help to get to safety. With a story like that, all of us at Four Nomadic Hippies had a lifted level of excitement to see this guy play.
Pulido has twenty career caps thus far for the national team of his home country of Mexico. During his debut, during a friendly versus South Korea, Alan scored a hat trick in Mexico’s 4-0 victory. Later that year, Pulido scored an equalizer that allowed Mexico to draw against the United States on the road.
Pulido has garnered numerous Individual and team accolades during his fútbol career. He was a part of a Super Greek League title team as a member of Olympiacos during the 2015-16 season. In 2018, he won the CONCACAF Champions League with Guadalajara, a team he won the Liga MX with a year earlier. He was named to the Liga MX Best XI and Liga MX Most Valuable Player in 2017, and more recently, he was named Sporting KC’s Offensive Player of the year (2020).
Dickhead Move Of The Night: Douchey Security Stadium Agent
This guy really thought the entire evening was about him… he strutted around like he was one step from being called into duty by the Secret Service to head up the security detail of President Joe Biden, all while trying to give everyone in attendance a little taste of his dance moves. He was enthralled by getting to wear an earpiece and yellow coat, and in his mind, he was single-handedly maintaining control of the totally non-hospitable crowd. I certainly would hope he gets a special medal for his service.
And those sunglasses… necessary, man…? I mean, the evening was 100% cloudy, and since the match started at 7:30 pm. The sun was down well before the second half, but what did you do? Kept on wearing those damn things. And the little pulldown just below your eyes to look at someone just about made me lose my mind… in a really, really, bad way… security douche.
It was the first time in a long time that I wanted to run out on the playing surface during competition… mainly because I wanted to plow over this dude as he tried to stop me. I found myself daydreaming about doing it throughout the match, and it would have been a lot of fun. But ultimately, I didn’t do it… because I’m a grown-up, and I didn't have quite enough beers to carry it out.
4NH Best Logo/Kit: Austin FC
This was a tough one… Sporting KC has some good-looking kits, but the rare quality of Austin FC jersey and logo combo wins out.
At first glance, the Yeti sponsorship brings a certain amount of credence… I mean, who isn’t impressed when someone rolls by with a Yeti cooler? Now this fútbol club has it on their kits…? Solid!
The logo is pretty funky and has some meaning behind it. For example… there are eleven leaves on the tree… representing the eleven players on the pitch. The leaves are being lifted up by branches, so to speak. This is being used as a symbol of the supporters lifting up the players as they proudly compete for the club… and for all those working at Yeti!
Also… the green and black go together so beautifully on this kit… Hey… have you ever seen Yeti’s sweet green cooler…? I implore you to Google "green Yeti cooler”… it's just incredible! Have your checks and money orders ready… you are going to want to order one of them. Operators are standing by…
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