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The Chief Communications Officer for Sporting Kansas City, Rob Thomson, joined the podcast to reminisce on the history of the club ahead of Retro Night at Children’s Mercy Park on Sunday. What was meant to be a fairly brief chat turned into a long story session lasting over an hour - but we could have listened for much longer.
Robo, as he is better known, has been with the club since 1997 and has an endless list of stories to share. We didn’t realize just how many questions we would have for him and ended up talking for a really long time.
We heard stories about Alexi Lalas, Jimmy Conrad, Tony Meola and so many more. The landscape of not only Major League Soccer, but this club also, has changed drastically over the years. It is really quite fascinating to listen to someone who has witnessed the entire transformation. From the days of being forced to eat Olive Garden every single day, to the Pinnacle National Development Center where Vermes would yell at players for eating like that.
He shares some of his happiest moments with the club, as well as some of the stressful PR days throughout his time here. Which players made him nervous when speaking to the media? How did Kei Kamara manage to stay out of trouble in the SKC locker room, but get into trouble everywhere else?
Some favorite moments include talking about “the old days” when some players may not have been drinking water, as well as the culture shock for Latif Blessing when he arrived. Do you remember how you reacted the first time you tasted Dr. Pepper?
We promise you won’t be disappointed. He is a treasure trove of knowledge and we had a great time learning more tidbits about the history of the club we all love.