MLS Cup at home: Sporting has finally arrived. In the biggest game in Kansas City soccer history, Sporting faces off against a team that isn’t exactly a friend, Real Salt Lake. The game is expected to be extremely physical in the frozen over Blue Hell that is Sporting Park.
In their only meeting, Kansas City defeated Salt Lake in a thriller. The game was tied 1-1 going into stoppage time and the official announced that there would be a minimum of five minutes added. About four minutes in, a foul was called in Sporting’s final third. The RSL player, who was fouled, rolled around on the ground wasting time for at least 60 seconds. It ended up being detrimental for Salt Lake in the end.
Early in the 97th minute Sporting earned a corner. Everyone knew the whistle would be blown the second the ball was cleared out. It was Sporting’s last chance. The ball curled in and the unlikely hero, Ike Opara put the ball into the back of the net for the win.
Kansas City won, RSL fans booed, garbage was thrown, the online battles roared, (including the club sponsored ones) and Kei Kamara taunted the RSL fans with Twitter by saying, “I felt like a figure skater after that performance to have all those roses (bottle) throw on the ice (field). #HeartShapeHands to u all”.
However, this wasn’t the first time that these two sides had issues. During the 2011 preseason, SKC was down 2-0 late in the match. The game began to get a little rough. RSL was wasting time and passing the ball around, the game seemed like it was over. Then Sporting struck back with 2 late goals to tie it up and the battle was on. Roger Espinoza slid into a tackle hard and all control was lost. The benches cleared, punches were thrown, and the game had to be stopped.
Most rivalries are just between the fans. This rivalry is much more. The players and coaches actually hate each other. Since Ike Opara’s winner in Salt Lake, the drama has continued. Real Salt Lake general manager Garth Lagerwey said earlier this month that, “We want to keep the ball, we want to possess, we want to attack. Kansas City want to kick people…”
The fans hate each other. The players hate each other. The organizations hate each other. Welcome to the Blue Hell Real Salt Lake. It will freeze over on you at Sporting Park this Saturday. A rivalry has been born.