Five years ago Sporting Kansas City won their second MLS Cup. It was an amazing season for a team and city that was experiencing the upswing of a tremendous resurgence.
After seasons of apathetic support in cavernous Arrowhead or dealing with the tiny confines of a minor league ball park, the former Kansas City Wizards had re-branded, moved into a new stadium and was looked at as a model for starting over.
Since the name change in 2011, Sporting KC had won the U.S. Open Cup in 2012, their first hardware since 2004, and was filling their beautiful new stadium with rabid fans hungry for trophies in a city that was starving for professional sports success.