Sporting KC's annual Media Game to take place Sunday in old-school MLS shootout format

In more ways than one, Sunday's showdown between Sporting Kansas City and Columbus Crew SC won't be your ordinary MLS meeting.

First and foremost, Sporting KC and Columbus are tied for second in the Supporters' Shield standings, providing plenty of talking points for broadcast trio Nate Bukaty, Dan Kennedy and Katie Witham in a nationally televised matchup on FS1.

Secondly, Sporting KC will celebrate its annual Retro Night with a comprehensive throwback experience, including a fresh line of retro merchandise on sale at SportingStyle locations inside the stadium.

• Buy Tickets: #SKCvCLB on Retro Night

And last but certainly not least, halftime will treat supporters to the always-entertaining Media Game, contested among numerous Kansas City media members.

However, this year's media game will deviate from past editions in one significant way. Whereas previous media games were contested in a conventional open scrimmage format, the 2018 contest will pay homage to the Retro Night theme and harken back to the early days of Major League Soccer.

On Sunday, a host of Kansas City journalists, television anchors and radio personalities will go head-to-head in an old-school MLS shootout. For those unfamiliar with how deadlocked MLS matches were decided from 1996-1999, feast your eyes on the two videos on this page. 

Instead of a straight penalty kick from 12 yards, the shootout started 35 yards from goal with each player having five seconds to attempt a shot. The player could make as many moves as he could in a breakaway situation in the five seconds before striking the ball. This allowed kick takers to deceive goalkeepers in a variety of ways, while goalkeepers could advance off their lines and take on attackers without restrictions that are normally implemented in penalty shootouts.

Pay close attention to the video above, and you'll see a pair of Sporting Legends — current Manager Peter Vermes and former goalkeeper Tony Meola — coming up big for the MetroStars in a shootout during the inaugural 1996 MLS campaign. The video below shows the entirety of a wild shootout between the Kansas City Wizards and San Jose Clash at Arrowhead Stadium in April 1999.

As of Wednesday, 28 players are confirmed to compete in the Sporting KC Media Game, which will take place Sunday during halftime. All participants will be split into four teams of seven players. Team Sinovic will face Team Leabo by the South Stand, while Team Augustine will face Team Gutierrez in front of the Cauldron.