25 Stories That Made MLS

The Brothers Rahman

Ahead of Major League Soccer's 25th season, brothers Tutul and Neetol Rahman tells 25 stories that made the league that it is today. read less
SportsSports

Episodes

18. The Reinvention of Kansas City
Feb 27 2020
18. The Reinvention of Kansas City
How the MLS team in Kansas City went from being last in attendance and fan engagement to being a model MLS franchise that's always sold out - one of the best turnarounds in all of sports.Sources:Special thanks to Mike McGrew and Mike KuhnLamar Hunt Sells MLS Wizards to Local Grouphttp://www.espn.com/espn/wire/_/section/soccer/id/2567849Serious Investment and Savvy Marketing Revive Soccer In Kansas City by Sam Bordenhttps://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/24/sports/soccer/soccer-in-the-us-heartland-kansas-city-transformed.htmlAs expected City Council Gives Approval to Three Trail Projecthttps://web.archive.org/web/20080628164818/http://primebuzz.kcstar.com/?q=node%2F8940WiZards Stadium project kicked over state lines by Kevin Collison for the KC Starhttps://web.archive.org/web/20090912055722/http://www.kansascity.com/842/story/1433346.htmlWiZards Kick off Zard Era https://www.oursportscentral.com/services/releases/wizards-kick-off-zard-card-era/n-1989400TBT the Rochester Wizardshttp://www.downthebyline.com/2015/07/tbt-rochester-wizards.html?m=1Nine years ago, KC at Brink of losing the MLS team by Sam McDowellhttps://www.kansascity.com/sports/mls/sporting-kc/article334008/Nine-years-ago-KC-was-on-the-brink-of-losing-its-pro-soccer-team.htmlStar Bonds and Location Make Sporting Park a Star by Patrick Riche for Forbeshttps://www.forbes.com/sites/prishe/2012/10/29/star-bonds-location-make-livestrong-sporting-park-a-star-among-u-s-soccer-stadiums/amp/?__twitter_impression=trueSporting KC and Soccer Development by Scott Fenwickhttps://onthefiredotcom.wordpress.com/2013/07/30/sporting-kansas-city-and-soccer-development-an-interview-with-david-ficklin/amp/?__twitter_impression=true
14. Beckham & Blanco - Enter the Designated Player Era
Feb 5 2020
14. Beckham & Blanco - Enter the Designated Player Era
How the largest signing in league history, David Beckham, happened in the first place and how it changed the direction of MLS forever.The brothers talk about how and why the Designated Player happened, how Blanco was the better player in the early years and why it took a few years before everyone started to spend money on Designated Players.Sources:Looking back at fires last big signing by Guillermo Rivera for Chicago Nowhttp://www.chicagonow.com/fire-confidential/2017/05/looking-back-at-the-fires-last-big-signing-in-2007-cuauhtemoc-blanco/Soccer Player Beckham Sparks $13m in Sales by Curtis Eichelberger for NY Sunhttps://www.nysun.com/national/soccer-player-beckham-sparks-13m-in-sales/52872/15 Years of the Don by Grant Wahl for SIhttps://www.si.com/soccer/planet-futbol/2014/12/03/don-garber-mls-commissioner-major-league-soccerQ&A with Grant Wahl by Jack Bell for NY Timeshttps://goal.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/07/10/qa-with-grant-wahl-author-of-the-beckham-experiment/Galaxy has Becks Appeal by Graham Jones for LA Timeswww.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2007-jan-12-sp-beckham12-story.htmlBeckham is MLS Expansion Story Du Jour by Paul Kennedy for Soccer Americahttps://www.socceramerica.com/publications/article/51723/beckham-is-mls-expansion-story-du-jour.htmlhttp://www.dignityhealthsportspark.com/news/detail/david-beckham-launches-soccer-academy-at-the-home-depot-center-in-californiahttp://thesportsbizblog.blogspot.com/2007/07/fire-to-be-sold-to-bronfman-family.html