Know Your Knight: Aaron Rench

KC Kingdom is growing at a rapid pace and our goal is to be the best Kansas City area sports site on the internet. Ben and I are pleased to announce we have added another new staff member, Aaron Rench, to our staff roster. Aaron will be helping in our effort to expand our Sporting Kansas City and our Kansas City Chiefs’ coverage. We are excited to have him writing for KC Kingdom.

Mandatory Credit: Don McPeak-USA TODAY Sports

Aaron has hit the ground running and has already published his first few article with us. Check out his article on the US Soccer team, featuring a couple of Sporting stars here, and he discusses how the Chiefs have managed to go 5-0 here. We look forward to working closely with Aaron.

Like all of the new writers to KC Kingdom, Aaron took a few minutes to answer eight questions so we can get to know him just a little better. Here are his answers to those 8 questions:

How did you become a fan of the team you’re covering?

For the Chiefs, it came from a time when I knew nothing about football. I was in the 7th grade when junior football came to my small town and I decided to play. Coach said the best way to learn what we were doing was to watch real football. The preacher at my church was Chiefs fan, and I remember him talking about them during one Sunday sermon.

I went home and turned on the Chiefs solely for that reason. That afternoon I watched as Priest Holmes, Tony Gonzalez, and Trent Green put on a show in what became the 13-3 season of 2003. After that season, I knew who my favorite team was, and since then I have taken so many question on why I follow them.

For Sporting KC, it comes from a summer of watching the World Cup, the 2006 Cup in Germany to be exact. I was in high school, during a summer break, and somehow I got sick. Who gets sick in June? I ended up on the coach with nothing to watch, but soccer. I wasn’t sure is I wanted to watch a bunch of guys not scoring, but what I saw was so intense and so meaningful to so many people around the world that I didn’t stop watching.

I didn’t really get into MLS soccer though until the 2010 World Cup. If National Team soccer is so interesting, why can’t MLS soccer be? I chose Sporting KC to follow solely because of my love of the Chiefs, and I haven’t regretted it since.

Where did you grow up and where do you currently live?

I grew up in a small town about an hour east of St. Louis. There weren’t many Chiefs games I got to watch over the years, unless the Rams and/or Bears weren’t playing. As many of you know, St. Louis is a baseball town, the greatest baseball town ever, to be honest, so I also have a strong affection for the Cardinals.

Recently, I moved to Pittsburgh following the next step in my wife’s education. Pittsburgh is also an awesome sports city. I don’t know how to describe the epic-ness of watching your home-town team and your new-home team playing in the NLDS. By the time some of you read this, that series will be decided, but it has been something I’ll never forget.

What is your college/educational background?

I went to the Southern Illinois University of Edwardsville, majoring in Computer Science. SIUE just joined Division 1 basketball, so I hope someday to watch them in the tournament.

What do you do for a living?

During the day, I’m a Software Developer designing all kinds of complex and important things. But during the night, I play electric harmonica for a local Ska band. Also, I play in a professional laser-tag team traveling the world, one dark arena at a time.

(Hint: Two of those stories are not true.)

Do you have a family?

Yes. I am the oldest of three boys. I’m the shortest, but smartest and best looking.

I have been married to my high school sweetheart for two years. She is a lot smarter than me, and should probably get acknowledgement for helping me edit my writing, but she already knows I couldn’t do much without her.

What do you do for fun (sports related or otherwise)?

I have an obsession with sports. I watch, play, talk, read, and play video games about sports. But really, I do like to play soccer whenever I can find enough people. Video games also interest me, but I’m usually too cheap to buy the new cool-looking ones. I still haven’t played Mass Effect 3. I’m trying to learn how to play guitar, and I’m not half bad at cooking. However, movies and TV shows are the main chunk of my extra time.

What is your favorite sports moment or memory?

It’s hard to pick, there are so many. A few: Going to a Fighting Illini game with my dad, sitting in the highest, coldest seat in the stadium and watching the Illini hold Michigan at the 1 yard line to pull the upset. Landon Donavan coming out of nowhere to score against Algeria in the World Cup. Driving through 6 inches of snow to get to a Chiefs game.

But the greatest memory I may ever have belongs to the St. Louis Cardinals. In 2011, the Cards were 8.5 games back at the end of August. The next two months were the epitome of unbelievable, every series and game came down to the wire. It all culminated in the best baseball game I have ever seen, Game 6 of the World Series, and David Freese’s home run. I couldn’t believe it then, I still can’t believe it now.

What are your least favorite team(s) and why?

There aren’t many teams I really don’t like. I find any game can be good entertainment and every player and coach has a story to tell.

But so help me if I have to watch the Raiders beat the Chi–. Nope. Can’t say it.

Also, I’m not a fan of the Chicago Cubs, but they are so cute and tiny. Maybe someday I will have reason to hate you, but you have to win a little before that happens.