Friday means only one thing — no, not the end of the work week, but a brand new episode of MLS Insider on the NBC Sports Network (7:30 pm ET) and TSN (2 pm ET).
Perhaps the most important day — and victory — in the history of the Kansas City Wiz/Wizards/Sporting Kansas City came not in an MLS Cup or US Open Cup final, but in a game that's not likely to show up in many official record books. The date was July 25, 2010, and the then-Wizards — yet to be rebranded as Sporting KC — were playing their home games in a 10,000-seat minor league baseball stadium.
It was about as "un-major league" as Major League Soccer could get at that time. But on this day, 52,424 fans from Kansas City and all over the Midwest filled Arrowhead Stadium for an international friendly against world superpower Manchester United. The result — 2-1 in favor of a ten-men Wizards side — has since been pegged as the day the rise of soccer in Kansas City began.
Also in this week's MLS Insider is an in-depth feature with Portland Timbers midfielder Diego Valeri on his short time in the league and what coming to live in America has meant to him. This week's episode wraps up with a look at the US national team and the role that MLS has played to give some of its brightest stars the chance to wear the Stars and Stripes.
As always, the entire series of MLS Insider is available right here on MLSsoccer.com.
