Enough has been made of the Sporting KC name change. I'm not going to spend any more time on it after this one final thought that fairly well sums up my feelings on the matter.
After the big announcement Wednesday night, I had a chance to pull forward Ryan Smith aside for a couple minutes of his time, and better than I can even speak for myself, he summed up exactly how I feel when asked his feelings about the announcement:
For me, it's a fantastic thing that's happening right now. I'm sure the owners and everyone know what they're doing. And, the reasons they've given here tonight, it's definitely something to look forward to. So, along with the stadium, it looks like it's going to be a fantastic year next season.
Thank you, Ryan. Ownership group OnGoal is a very intelligent group of businessmen that have made important decisions in the business world like this one before. They're not stupid. Everything they've touched so far with this team has turned to gold. See things out and I think five years from now, people will laugh that such a fuss was made over all of it.
Also, when asked if Ryan was excited to be wearing the new Sporting KC jersey next season:
I've only just seen it, of course, but I can't wait to have my name on the back and to be running around, winning games and scoring goals.
He's excited for 2011, it sounds like he's definitely going to be back next year. If he didn't, he probably wouldn't still be in Kansas City a week after everyone else left town for their respective homes. He's a class act, and hit the nail right on the head.