He may not have been Santa Claus, but for four local recipients of the Blue KC Sporting Samaritan award, Sporting Kansas City captain Matt Besler was the next best thing.
At the end of 2019, Besler visited a quartet of local elementary and middle schools for surprise visits to teachers who were named Blue KC Sporting Samaritans throughout the year.
As the ringleader of Sporting's initiative with Blue KC, Besler visited Preston Hickert of Heritage Middle School in Liberty, Missouri; Tiffany Peeler of Walden Middle School in Kansas City, Missouri; Cara Martin of Wolf Springs Elementary School in Bucyrus, Kansas; and Dustin Springer of Rosehill Elementary School in Lenexa, Kansas.