As some of you know, I was able to have the opportunity to see Sporting Kansas City play at Arrowhead Stadium against Inter Miami. I must say, the game lived up to the hype ten-fold. From epic plays to the roar of the crowd, it had everything you could think of. I’m splitting this review into two categories, the fan experience and the overall game itself. It will show whether you should pay up and go to the 2024 Copa America games at Arrowhead, and in the future in 2026 when the World Cup is here.
Fan Experience:
We arrived around 3:30 using the rideshare lane, and it was already fairly busy. With all of the tailgaters and people lining up already to get into the stadium. Keep in mind, gates open at 5:30. Kinda sets the scene for how the fan atmosphere was. After we had a pre-game meal at Taco Bell across the street, weaving through traffic we had made it back. Arrowhead Stadium tailgating was a lot more lively, and they had way more stuff than we had thought that was open. They had autograph sessions with some of the Sporting KC players and even USMNT (United States Mens National Team) legend broadcaster Taylor Twellman.
To say it was packed is an understatement, there were plenty of Sporting KC, Inter Miami, and just soccer fans from other teams. The crowd control was good to an extent, yes it felt crowded but no issues arose. One issue I did have though was with concession prices, thank goodness we brought water in. We would’ve had to fork over $6 for one bottle if we hadn’t brought in water bottles. Not to mention just overall food prices were nuts, $8 for pretzels, and $4 for cheese cups were the norm. This isn’t an Arrowhead Stadium problem, where it is an American stadium issue. Not exactly motivating to watch the game.
Game Review:
The fans really showed out for this one, there wasn’t a moment where it was quiet. Well at least in the lower bowl, in the upper bowl, it was comparable to a library. The overall attendance was about 72,000, which is the second highest that week besides Bayern Munich’s game in Germany at the Allianz Arena. Fan atmosphere affected the play on the field, even when they shouldn’t have as some ran onto the field. Nevertheless, the game marched on.
1st Half:
Sporting KC started off trying to get a fast attack, but Inter Miami would bounce back. A good pass lands near the box and Erik Thommy blasts it past Drake Callender for a Sporting Goal in the fifth minute. Sending the crowd into a blaze. A couple of minutes later Miami started a counter when Lionel Messi passed it to Diego Gomez and Gomez pushed it right past goalkeeper Tim Melia to equalize. Chance after chance would go one during the minutes of the first half, even Messi kicking a ball just wide of a second goal for Inter Miami. The first half was still at a 1-1 deadlock.
2nd Half:
The second half kicked off as it would be relatively quiet, but a Sporting KC turnover led to the ball landing in the feet of David Ruiz. Passing it to the respective Lionel Messi as he scores a beautiful goal into the heart of the Cauldron. There was not too much Tim Melia could do there, it was just a magnificent goal. Sporting not resting on their laurels tries to push upfield and is awarded a corner kick. An Inter Miami defender hits the kick out, then Erik Thommy becomes the hero again and blasts the ball right through Callender again bouncing off the woodwork. Sporting KC would attempt to park the bus or limit the offense of Miami for the rest of the game. And to their credit, it worked, until it didn’t. Tim Melia had the ball and passed it to Jake Davis, the bad thing is Inter Miami had read the pass like a book. Gomez passes the ball in quickly to Luis Suarez who was in the right place at the right time to score the third goal. Sporting would try to counter, but it was too little too late as Inter Miami won 3-2.
Should you go to Copa America/World Cup:
After saying all that I had said, I definitely feel if you have the time and money you should consider going to the future soccer games at Arrowhead. Even if you aren’t a soccer fan, you will have a lot of fun just going there and being with the crowd. It’s like a big party from start to finish. And just like parties, even if something bad happens you’ll still have a little bit of fun. Let’s hope this can continue in the future.
