Seven years ago, I set out to write about the stunning transformation of Kansas City’s pro soccer team. In just a few short years, everything about the franchise had changed: the owners, the name, the stadium and, most of all, the perception, both around the league and in the city. I wanted to know how it had happened.



I did more than a dozen interviews, wrote a couple of (bad) drafts and then … nothing. I moved from Kansas City to Seattle, started a new job and left the story in the past, where I thought it would stay. But two weeks ago, while watching Sporting on ESPN, I realized the story was still relevant all these years later because Sporting’s reinvention is still relevant.



Just last year, while touring the team’s state-of-the-art training facility, MLS commissioner Don Garber called Sporting a “model franchise” and a “showcase” for other teams. Houston, Minnesota United and FC Cincinnati have all cited Sporting...