Let's face it, not all matches are created equal. Rivalries are built over time, players and coaches switch clubs, champions are crowned. It's all important (at least that's what the managers say), but some contests simply matter more than others, everyone knows that.
With that in mind we bring you a list of Sporting Kansas City matches you'd do well to not miss this year. Most will be played at LSP, a couple others away from home, but they all figure to be very compelling. As with any untouched fixture list, predicting results is a fool's errand. All we know is that it's going to be a fun ride.
Date: March 10
Opponent: D.C. United
Venue: RFK Stadium
The 2012 regular season begins at the venue where the 2011 version concluded. For the second straight year, Sporting Kansas City will open their schedule on the road, this time against a maturing D.C. United side that will be hungry to take the next step in their development under Ben Olsen. A positive start to the season will be classed as imperative by Peter Vermes, and history favors Sporting in this fixture. The club boasts a League-best record of 10-4-2 in season openers, with four of those wins coming against D.C.
Date: March 17
Opponent: New England Revolution
Venue: LIVESTRONG Sporting Park
Sporting Kansas City will play four of their first six matches of 2012 at LSP, and they'll kick things off on St. Patrick's Day against a New England side that figures to feature several new faces under new manager Jay Heaps. Despite finishing at opposite ends of the regular season table in 2011, Sporting took only one point from a possible six against New England last year thanks to Teal Bunbury's bobblehead-inspired heroics. The stadium will have been quiet and empty for over four months, so expect another standing-room only crowd (Read: Get tickets early).
Date: April 7
Opponent: LA Galaxy
Venue: LIVESTRONG Sporting Park
For the first time since 2003, the Galaxy visit Kansas City before the end of June, and they'll come to town as defending MLS Cup champions. Last year's clash came good in the drama department, as Omar Bravo's late equalizer from the penalty spot in front of a sold-out LSP denied the Galaxy a victory just minutes from full time. Will Beckham be around this time? Looking more and more likely, isn't it?
Date: May 5
Opponent: Montreal Impact
Venue: LIVESTRONG Sporting Park
It's always fun to check out the expansion teams in person for the first time, but rest assured this one will have special meaning for an entirely different reason. There hasn't been a more polarizing move from Sporting Kansas City this offseason than the trade that sent Davy Arnaud to Montreal in exchange for Seth Sinovic and allocation money, and that might remain the case. On what figures to be an emotional evening at LSP, Arnaud will make his return as an opponent.
Date: May 12
Opponent: Chicago Fire
Venue: Toyota Park
Road trip! Sporting KC supporters mobilized en masse to the Windy City despite frigid conditions last year, only to be greeted by a first half red card that spelled the first defeat of the season. The weather figures to be a bit more kind this go around. Will the scoreline be as well?
Date: July 7
Opponent: Houston Dynamo
Venue: LIVESTRONG Sporting Park
Sporting will host the Dynamo at LSP on NBC Sports in September, but you can be sure that the first meeting between the two Eastern Conference finalists from 2011 will be the match that both sides have circled. Sporting will be short on rest, recovering from an Independence Day encounter away to Montreal just a few days earlier, but the prospect of facing the team that eliminated them from the 2011 MLS Cup Playoffs--at home, mind you--will surely be enough to get the squad ready to go by kickoff. Arguably the most enticing fixture of the year.
Date: August 26, September 28
Opponents: New York Red Bulls, Chicago Fire
Venue: LIVESTRONG Sporting Park
Pop quiz: How many Western Conference opponents will Sporting face AFTER their trip to Seattle on June 20? Answer: 0. For the rest of the year, it's all East, all the time, meaning that any early season slip-ups can be corrected quickly in the standings with a run of wins once the days start getting shorter. When the Red Bulls and Fire come to Kansas City in late-August and September, respectively, the playoff race will be in full effect.
Date: October 24
Opponent: Philadelphia Union
Venue: LIVESTRONG Sporting Park
For the second time in four years, Sporting will conclude their schedule at home on October 24 against Eastern Conference opposition. In 2009, a 2-2 draw with D.C. United transpired at CommunityAmerica Ballpark in a match that saw Kei Kamara score his first goal for the club. In 2012, Sporting will wrap up the regular season before the final weekend against the Philadelphia Union. Home finales are always best when the playoffs lie on the other side of the full time whistle, which was was not the case in 2009. Will it be in 2012?
