#TBT Things Could be Worse

Last night's game was bad, it was extremely poor by Sporting KC as they fell 5-0 to the San Jose Earthquakes, but it wasn't the worst loss in KC history, it wasn't even the worst loss at home in KC's history.

That honor goes to the game in this week's Throw Back Thursday. Back in 2001, the Kansas City Wizards were coming off their MLS Cup winning season of the year prior and on July 4th of that year welcomed the team they defeated in MLS Cup, the Chicago Fire, to Arrowhead Stadium. A crowd of over 19,000 had turned out for the game and post game fireworks, which at the time was a very good crowd for a KC Wizards game.

The fans got to see fireworks during the game as well, but none of it was from the Wizards as they got played off the field by a Fire team that looked like they were taking all their frustrations from the 2000 MLS Cup final out in the one game.

Jamar Beasley got things started in the very first minute after a long ball by Zach Thornton was flicked into the path of Beasley by Eric Wynalda, who beat Bo Oshoniyi to make it 1-0. In the seventh minute Sergi Daniv made it 2-0 with a nice run and finish holding off Peter Vermes. Just before half time the Fire made it 3-0 as Jamar Beasley combined with his brother DaMarcus Beasley to set up Wynalda to put the game away before the half.

The second half didn't get any better for KC, but they did keep Chicago off the board until the 72nd when Peter Nowak scored with a shot from outside the box to make it 4-0. Over the last 10 minutes of the game though the Fire scored three more goals. In the 81st, Nowak was played in behind the KC defense and scored to make it 5-0. Two minutes later Nowak turned creator and set up Hristo Stoitchkov, then in the 88th Stoitchkov finished up the scoring as KC's defense really looked to be no where to be found in that game.

And it's not like that defense was a slouch of a defense, yes it had someone like Michael Green, who only played three games for the club, but it also had Sporting Legend and head coach, Peter Vermes as well as Nick Garcia, the team just didn't show up. On the plus side of that result, the Wizards came back three days later and picked up a 2-1 win over the New England Revolution on the road.

Years later Fire fans still enjoy bringing that game up, in fact, when Sporting traveled 300 people to Toyota Park back in 2011, Fire fans gave KC fans a DVD with the MLS Cup logo on it that ended up having that game on DVD for all the fans that traveled. Certainly a tip of the cap has to be offered for that nice troll job, although I do enjoy my MLS Cup 2000 coaster I now have.

Here's the lineup on that day:
Bo Oshoniyi, Nick Garcia, Peter Vermes, Michael Green (Mark Santel  46), Mike Burns, Chris Klein, Kerry Zavagnin, Francisco Gomez (Roy Lassiter  46), Chris Brown (Gary Glasgow  63), Matt McKeon, Onandi Lowe.

Watch the low lights below.