Is a Kansas City sports fan the best sports fan in the country?
If you can convince FanSided that you are the biggest sports fan in the country, we’ll send you and a guest to New York City to attend the annual Sports Illustrated Sportsperson of the Year event and name you Sports Fan of the Year!
Imagine George Brett giving his farewell speech to a vacant Kauffman Stadium or Alex Gordon hitting the game tying home run in Game 1 of the World Series in front of empty seats. Without the fans, there is no roar, there is no electricity, there is no glory.
Last year, we decided it was finally time to recognize the nameless faces watching from the bleachers when we named Dennis Gleason the inaugural Sports Fan of the Year.
A Kansas City sports fan should be named as the FanSided fan of the year because we have one of the best sports cities in the entire country.
For one, there’s the loud and rocking Arrowhead Stadium, which hosts our Kansas City Chiefs. Arrowhead set the record for the loudest outdoor stadium roar at 142.2 decibels. That night saw the Chiefs blow out the New England Patriots on Monday Night Football and proved to the entire nation that Chiefs fans are one of the best fan bases.
Next door is Kauffman Stadium, which hosted the 2015 World Series champion Kansas City Royals. The Royals clinched the American League Central for the first time ever and a large part of their success in the playoffs that year was due to the dedicated fans.
Kansas City also has dedicated college sports fans, who are with their team through thick and thin. The Kansas Jayhawks are always a dominant force in college basketball, making their fans proud in the NCAA Tournament.
The Missouri Tigers went to back to back SEC title games not too long ago and their fans are always revved up about their school.
Kansas State is also a power house in the Kansas City area, going to 14 bowl games in the last 19 years. Bill Snyder is one of the best coaches in college football history.
What qualifies someone to be the FanSided Sports Fan of the Year?
The FanSided Sports Fan of the Year is a person who exemplifies dedication, integrity and “Fansmanship” all for the love of the game.
What is “Fansmanship”? Just as athletes exhibit and strive for good sportsmanship, fans strive to exhibit good Fansmanship. Good Fansmanship means representing the teams you follow and the communities those teams represent in a positive way at all times thus perpetuating all that is good about sports and sports fandom. Every fan has a story. We want to hear yours.
Be sure to read the full contest rules as restrictions do apply. We can’t wait to start reading/viewing your submissions.