Photo by Briana Tozour via Uplash.

If you’re looking for a good sports city and atmosphere, Kansas City is your place to be. It’s host to four major professional sports teams across three different sports: baseball, football and soccer. This article aims to be a survey of Kansas City sports, highlighting each team and providing a little history for each.

Chiefs Kingdom: Kansas City Chiefs

The Chiefs are the oldest professional sports team in Kansas City, although they weren’t established in Kansas City. Our beloved Chiefs were established in 1960 as the Dallas Texans by then-American Football League (AFL) founder Lamar Hunt.

A minor tangent about the AFL: The AFL was created as an alternative to the NFL by Lamar Hunt. To avoid a talent war, the AFL merged with the NFL to create one league in June 1966. The AFL became the American Football Conference (AFC), whose title still bears Mr. Hunt’s name. The first AFL-NFL championship in 1967, amusingly called the World Championship, kicked off what would become the Super Bowl era.

In 1963, the Dallas Texans moved to Kansas City and rebranded as the Kansas City Chiefs. Since then, they’ve won six league titles (four Super Bowls and two AFL championships, before the AFL and the NFL merged) and are currently one of the best teams in the league. Under the leadership of star quarterback Patrick Mahomes II and head coach Andy Reid, the Chiefs have won their division for nine straight years, the AFC championship game for five of the last six years, and three Super Bowls.

On first arrival in Kansas City, they played at the Municipal Stadium on E. 22nd Street and Brooklyn Avenue. In 1972, the team moved to Arrowhead Stadium in Jackson County, where they have played for the last fifty years.

Across from Arrowhead is the second team we’ll encounter on this tour of KC sports: Major League Baseball’s Kansas City Royals.

The Boys Are Playing Some Ball: Kansas City Royals

The Kansas City Royals inhabit Kauffman Stadium (in the same sports complex as Arrowhead), named after entrepreneur and philanthropist Ewing M. Kauffman. (His family foundation also contributed significantly to Kauffman Gardens and the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts, both located in downtown KC.) Like the Chiefs, the Royals also played in Municipal Stadium until 1972.

The Kansas City Royals are currently in-season. As of the time of writing, they place third in the American League Central, trailing the Cleveland Guardians and the Detroit Tigers. The Royals haven’t seen as much success as the Chiefs. They’ve only won the World Series twice, in 1985 and 2015. Since that win in 2015, the Royals have only made the playoffs once.

That said, the Royals are looking to turn things around this year and build on their AL playoff appearance last season. Stars like Bobby Witt Jr. (#7) have garnered significant attention; Witt Jr. was selected as a starting shortstop on the US national baseball team. Last year, KC Royals ace Cole Ragans (#55) was named to an All-Star team, and the Royals hope he can continue to deliver.

The Other Midwestern Football: Sporting KC

Sporting KC came to Kansas City in 1996 as the Kansas City Wiz, creating electric football from the second they landed in Kansas City. A decade and a half of KC Wiz brought an MLS Cup (2000), a US Open Cup (2004), and a dramatic victory against Manchester United in 2010 at Arrowhead Stadium; Man Utd. would go on to win the English Premier League that year.

In late 2010, the Wizards rebranded as Sporting KC and opened their own stadium, Children’s Mercy Park in Kansas City, Kansas, although they’ve kept elements of the Wiz heritage ever since. Six years of MLS playoff appearances through 2017 have been followed by what the Sporting website politely calls a “dip in form.” Although the team is third last in Major League Soccer, they’ve won two of their last three matches against St. Louis and San José.

Making a Splash: KC Current

The Kansas City Current are KC’s newest addition to professional sports, playing in the NWSL – the National Women’s Soccer League. In Dec. 2020, the NWSL awarded an expansion franchise to Kansas City, and the city was up for the challenge. KC Current owners constructed CPKC Stadium for the club, the first stadium in the world specifically created for a women’s professional sports team.

While some may be tempted to write off the Current due to a rocky start in 2021-23 (where they had two seasons placing in the bottom three), the Current have made waves in the league ever since. They qualified for the 2024 playoffs as the #4 seed and made it to the semifinals, losing to top-seed and eventual NWSL champions Orlando Pride.

The Current have substantial talent on their side, including 2024 Golden Boot winner Temwa Chawinga (#6), whose 20 goals last year set an all-time NWSL record. This year, the Current have only allowed one goal this season and won their first five regular season matches, the only team in the league to do so. Their only loss came to the North Carolina Courage on Apr. 26, 3-2.

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Whether you prefer watching boys in blue or exploring #TealTown, Kansas City knows how to bring the energy to its local sports teams. At home, away, and at the stadium, there is always a KC sports team for you to discover.

On Aug. 2, over 900,000 Kansas voters bustled to local election offices in what would come to be a record-breaking turnout for the state’s primary elections.

On the ballot, Kansans faced a proposed amendment to the state constitution that would have effectively remove the right to an abortion. Voters overwhelmingly refused the measure by nearly 20 percentage points, which was the first of five abortion-related issues set to be voted upon this year in the country.

A “yes” vote for the proposed amendment would have been in favor of removing abortion as a protected right from the Kansas constitution — ultimately allowing legislators to introduce restrictions and bans in the future. A “no” vote would have rejected this amendment and leave protections for abortion rights in place.

As expected for a controversial issue, campaigns on both sides raised millions of dollars in funding in the months leading up to the election. The two most popular campaigns were “Value Them Both” for accepting the proposed amendment, and “Vote No Kansas” for rejecting the measure.

For some Kansans, the ballot language was regarded as confusing, not clearly stating whether a “yes” or “no” vote would accept or reject the measure. To add to the uncertainty, an anonymous source texted Kansans a false statement on the morning of the election: “Women in KS are losing their choice on reproductive rights. Voting YES on the amendment will give women a choice. Vote YES to protect women’s health.”

With the turnout nearly doubling that of previous primaries, the highly anticipated election amassed a vote count rivaling that of the 2020 presidential election, short only a few hundred thousand votes. In total, more Kansas residents cast votes for or against the proposed amendmendent than voted for Donald Trump (R, 771,406) or Joseph Biden (D, 570,323) individually in 2020.

Following the Supreme Court’s June 24 bombshell decision to overturn Roe v. Wade (1973) and Planned Parenthood v. Casey (1992), Kansas sought out voter approval before enforcing or rejecting proposed restrictions. In contrast, other states, such as Arkansas, Mississippi, Missouri, South Dakota and Wisconsin, quickly enacted trigger laws — policies set in place to restrict abortion access in anticipation of such a ruling.

Kansas resident Melissa Leavitt requested a recount in nine of Kansas’ 105 counties, paid for by anti-abortion activist Mark Gietzen and online fundraising. Reporting the new results on Aug. 20, less than 100 votes changed compared to the count on Aug. 2 and the state confirmed the rejection of the measure.

As of Aug. 25, 12 states have effectively banned abortion access for their residents; meanwhile three states carry restrictions relating to gestational age, and several others wait on court decisions and legal clarification before enforcement.

With Missouri spearheading bans on the medical procedure, residents must travel out-of-state for abortion-related services. Further, Two clinics in Overland Park, KS, best serve Missouri’s Kansas City Metro area, including the William Jewell College community.

In the weeks leading up to the election, several Jewell students took to social media to educate others on the implications of the proposed amendment. For them, the election was more than just a neighboring state’s problem.

“A lot of uterus-having-people feared for their lives [on the night of the election],” Mia Page, a Missouri resident and music performance major, explained. “Even if it’s not in my state, [the outcome] gives hope to the rest of the country.”

Communications major Edward James Rapstine IV added to this sentiment: “[Some of] my best friends are from Kansas. It impacts them, and if it impacts them, it impacts me.”

However, to others, the Kansas primary outcome highlighted the power of allowing individuals to vote by issue rather than relying on elected representatives.

“[The results] show that a traditionally red state can vote for a more democratic policy when rights are questioned,” Darby Slaughter said, a Missouri resident and history and theater dual major.

To many students and voters — as evidenced by the record Kansas turnout — voting by issue may prove to be an improvement rather than relying on elected officials as traditionally expected for proposals relating to contentious issues.

“I was pleasantly surprised when Kansas allowed voting on the issue of abortion rather than simply illegalizing it like many other states did,” Alexis Harper, a Kansas resident and biology major, said.

Despite the Kansas outcome, the United States remains a battleground for access to reproductive services, and individuals in the Kansas City metro still risk a 40-minute drive turning to a multi-day trip for in-person services if further restrictions are adopted in the state.

Although Missouri did not defer to voters for abortion-related measures this past primary election, the Kansas turnout and results may serve as an incentive to expand vote-by-issue ballots to include  other contentious issues. In August 2020, voters accepted a proposal to expand Medicaid coverage, but the change was not implemented until October 2021. Currently, Missouri voters are set to vote on legalizing recreational marijunana in the November general election.

Over the weekend of Sept. 24, 2021, a photo took the Olathe and Kansas City community by storm, prompting district and city-wide calls to action in preventing instances of racist speech or expression. The photo detailed two white students holding a sign stating, “If I was black, I would be picking cotton. But I’m white, so I’m picking you for HOCO [Homecoming]?” The sign also featured cotton balls alongside yes and no checkboxes

The two teens in the photo –one male and one female –were identified to be students from Olathe South High School in Olathe, Kan. and St. James Academy in Lenexa, Kan.

In response to public outcry, St. James Academy responded promptly to the situation on Sept. 25 via a Twitter statement:

Soon after, Olathe Superintendent Brent Yeager issued an official statement on Sept. 30, writing, “I am deeply saddened that this happened in our community. However, this should serve as [a] message to all of us to come together, to create positive change. Creating an inclusive community is incumbent on all of us.”

Rhonda Windholz, the mother of the female student in the photo, released a statement to KSHB 41 News on Sept. 25 to shed more light on the situation: “One Caucasian and one African-American boy were involved. It was the African-American boy who actually made the sign, already marked up and took the picture. This by no means makes it right…”

Although sources have stated the involved Black student was suspended, banned or otherwise discouraged from attending the high school, there are no confirmed reports of this happening.

Yeager’s letter to the community concluded that the district will be working to prevent instances such as this from happening in the future, but also encouraged parents to take action and talk to their children about racism.

This incident occurred only days after the Park Hill South School District opened an investigation into a student-initated petition calling for the reinstatement of slavery.

This is an ongoing case and The Hilltop Monitor will update once more information is released.

The election cycle is heating up in the closing weeks before election day – especially in several key races in Missouri and Kansas. In Missouri, Republican Gov. Mike Parson is holding a steady lead over Democratic challenger Nicole Gallaway. A poll from St. Louis University has Parson with a six-point lead over Gallaway, with 3.6 percent of voters undecided. 

Parson became the governor in 2018 when former Gov. Eric Grietens resigned due to sexual misconduct allegations and campaign finance law violations. Gallaway has been the auditor for Missouri since 2015. While she was the auditor, Gallaway discovered over 350 million dollars of wasted or stolen tax money. She also brought criminal charges against offenders from both parties and has called herself an “independent watchdog.” Gallaway’s New Way Plan would make healthcare cheaper, increase transparency of the tax system and improve the quality of public education in Missouri.

Parson has tried to portray himself as the hometown governor. Throughout the campaign, he has talked about his history of having a great work ethic while working in the local Missouri government. Parson and his administration have touted the low unemployment rate and low income taxes during his tenure. Parson has said that he prevented the health care system from being overwhelmed during the pandemic and opened the economy early to save businesses in Missouri.

Galloway has been very critical of Parson’s response to COVID-19. Parson, who tested positive for the coronavirus in late September, has been an outspoken opponent to a mask mandate in Missouri, claiming that it is a violation of personal liberties. While campaigning, Parson has said that he has helped Missourians throughout the pandemic. Parson has said that there have been positive results from his COVID-19 response. About Parson’s pandemic response, Galloway has said, “This has been a failed test of leadership.” 

There are two constitutional amendments on the ballot for Missouri in 2020. Amendment 1, if passed, would expand term limits in the State Executive branch. Currently, the two-term limit only applies to the governor and the treasurer. The proposed amendment would create a two-term limit on the lieutenant-governor, the state auditor, the secretary of state and the attorney general. The second proposed amendment, Amendment 3, would bring changes to redistricting, lobbying and campaign finance laws in Missouri. The measure would “eliminate the nonpartisan state demographer and use a bipartisan commission appointed by the governor again for legislative redistricting, alter the criteria used to draw district maps, change the threshold of lobbyists’ gifts from $5 to $0, and lower the campaign contribution limit for state senate campaigns from $2,500 to $2,400.” 

In Clay County, there is a proposed amendment to the county constitution. The amendment would prohibit lawmakers from being able to vote on their pay increases. It would also allow for officeholders to be recalled from office and would set a limit on public debt. The amendment would additionally create a citizen review commission for all future constitutional amendments. 

In Missouri’s 6th district, which encompasses Liberty, incumbent Republican congressman Sam Graves is running against Democratic nominee Gena Ross and Libertarian candidate John Higgins. Graves has been the representative for the Missouri 6th since 2001 and most recently won in 2018 with 65.4 percent of the vote. The district is classified as “Solid Republican” by The Cook Political Report.