Potential Chants: Hey Blue!

Name of Song/Chant: Hey Blue!

To the tune of: Hey Jude by The Beatles

Lyrics:
Hey Jude, don't make it bad
Take a sad song and make it better
Remember to let her under your skin
Then you begin to make it better
Better, better, better, better, better, oh!

Na na na, na-na na na
Na-na na na, hey Jude
Na na na, na-na na na
Na-na na na, hey Jude

Original person suggesting: @Mass_St_Mob (see below for storyline)

Heard at LIVESTRONG Sporting Park: Never, but has been sung by Cauldron in the past.
Heard from other MLS supporters groups: Unknown

Why it works: original song WELL KNOWN, could be used to support the team after a goal scored against us, Jude turns to Blue easily, minor change of lyrics, short = easy to memorize, could be picked up just after being heard at a game
Why it might not: Too slow, not sure of other specific timings where it may be useful


Video: Original

Video: New lyrics with old song for Sporting KC fans:
Pending

Video: Soccer fans chanting:
 

Also found a version of the Michigan Ultras chanting for Soony Saad.

Re-inspired in 2011:

First Sporting Kansas City Tweetchat #SKCchat

This week marked the first ever Tweetchat dedicated to Sporting Kansas City (Tuesday September 20, 2011 8:30-9p).  While I have been wanting to have this for a while, it just came about spontaneously because a few people bought into the idea pretty fast and we were all online at the same time!  If you have never heard of a Tweetchat here is a quick primer...

Using a single hashtag (like #SKCchat) at a specific time with a third party client for Twitter like Tweetchat (my favorite) or Tweetdeck, you can see all the people talking about a single subject.  It is just like a private chat room because everyone is using the same hashtag, but given the very public nature of Twitter, ALL of your followers have the potential to see it.  Hopefully a few of them will be curious and then they will join in too.

The nice thing about an interface like Tweetchat (online only, not mobile) is that it has quick buttons for RT, reply, favorite and block user.  If you really like what someone said, retweet it to all of your followers.  And no worries about multiple retweets of the same comment, typing is the new sound of applause!  With a Tweetchat you can grow the online community and find more people to collaborate with.  I have used these techniques with great success in my other job as a hospice doctor with hashtags like #HPM (Hospice and Palliative Medicine) and #HCSM (Health Care Social Media).

And using some basic free social media tools like Tweetreach we can see that the 9 just over 2,500 Twitter accounts, making nearly 12,000 impressions with only 50 tweets.  

Here is the transcript of the inaugural chat (in reverse chronological order).

We hope you join us for the next one and on into the future.  If you are ever interested in hosting we would like to rotate it among different people. Click here to indicate times you may be available.

Here are a few variations to tweet out to encourage other people to come join the discussion (all are short enough for Twitter):

• #SKCchat Tuesday 8-9p Talking all things #SportingKC
• Come find your fellow #SportingKC fans at #SKCchat Tue nights 8-9p
• Can't get enough #SportingKC? Love Twitter? Then come join #SKCchat Tue 8-9p

Look! #SKCchat even got coverage over at The Daily Wiz KC!

Here is a highlight reel from the chat to give you a taste of it (using Storify):

Goals for Good

Soccer fans are passionate about their teams and as we have been looking at Supporter's groups across the MLS, I was glad to see a strong streak of philanthropy in many of them. Many, including Sporting KC's Cauldron, have events and tailgates that raise money for local initiatives. One of the simpler but potentially very effective charitable efforts was the Philadelphia Unions "Union Fans Assist." Building off this model and the novel reverse naming rights of LIVESTRONG Sporting Park from Sporting KC, we wanted to make it simple for KC fans to show their solidarity for the team and the community.

The premise for Goals for Good is easy:

1. Sporting fans like to see Sporting players score goals at LIVESTRONG Park

2. Just under 20,000 people attend each match at home

3. If everyone who attended pledged a small amount of money for each goal at home we could magnify the glow after each goal scored.

Four initial organizations were chosen for the 2011 season that represented a variety of interests so that 95% of people would find at least one they would pick.

Now here is where it got a little complicated. Ad Astra SKC is not a incorporated organization, and frankly we don't want to worry about handling other people's money. Also we don;t want to take away any tax benefit you, the person making the donation, may receive. So we made this a pledge campaign instead of a donation campaign. You only need to promise to donate. The action is on your honor. To make it easier to remember, you will be emailed (by Ad Astra SKC, not the organizations) as pledge invoice at the end of the year.

The 2011 Goals for Good campaign was kicked off September 1, 2011 and as of September 20th we have 9 pledges raising $15/goal for a total of $360 this year. Click here for updated 2011 totals. Sounds small, but we realize we started a little late this year and our widespread recognition to SKC fans is relatively small. But just imagine...

If 2% of fans who attend Sporting games at LIVESTRONG (18,500 x 2% = 370),

...donate an average of $2/goal

...and Sporting Kansas City scores an average of 25 goals at home /year

$370 x $2 x 25 = $18,500 pledged!

And if 10% of fans (1,850) donated $1/goal = $46,250 That's amazing!

So come on Sporting Kansas City fans, let's do something big together.

Do I Chant Wizards or Sporting?

A classic dilemma.  A puzzling puzzle.  In the heat of the moment what do you chant? Sporting or Wizards (or even Wiz)?  With a team like ours, you have choices, but we are most effective when we pick the same words to the chant.  Otherwise it sounds all muddled and then the people chanting lose momentum as they try and figure it out.

Now officially we are no longer the 'Wizards', but Sporting Kansas City, Sporting or Sporting KC.  (Apparently SKC is not an official name, although personally I think it would be best for Twitter but that's another story.)

So far the Cauldron regulars have it all pretty well sorted out, but with so many new people in the Member's Stand, you have new people learning it every time. So from listening to the Cauldron all season here is what I have gleaned as the songs and the names you use.

Official Cauldron Chant Sheet for reference (PDF)

Wizards
Everywhere We Go (Mighty Mighty Wizards)*
We Love Ya*

Wiz
Vamos KC Wiz (Ohhhhh KC Wiz)*

Sporting

Go! Sporting Go!^

SKC
Carefree*

Mixed
Sporting Sporting Kansas City (Battle Hymn of the Republic - Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!)*  - uses Sporting Kansas City and Wiz

Key
^=suggested chant, not in regular rotation
*=chant in regular rotation

Potential Sporting KC Chant: Bar-Be-Que

Name of Song/Chant: Bar-Be-Que

To the tune of: Vindaloo by Fat Les

Lyrics:
Bar-Be-Que, Bar-Be-Que
Bar-Be-Que, Bar-Be-Que, Na-Na
Bar-Be-Que, Bar-Be-Que
Bar-Be-Que, Bar-Be-Que, Na-Na
Bar-Be-Que, Bar-Be-Que, And we all eat Barbeque!
We're gonna score one more than you!
KC!

Original person suggesting: dada3345

New lyrics with old song for Sporting KC fans:



Soccer fans chanting 'Vindaloo' version:


Chant Origins: From Wikipedia:

It was released as a single in 1998 and recorded for the 1998 FIFA World Cup. The song was originally written as a parody of football chants, but was adopted as one in its own right and became a cult classic. Much of the song consists of the phrase "nah nah nah" and the word "vindaloo" repeated over and over by a mixed group, occasionally interspersed with lines such as "And we all like vindaloo" and "We're England; we're gonna score one more than you".

The song's name comes from the vindaloo, a type of very spicy Goan curry. It is often eaten by football supporters in the United Kingdom (and other nations) accompanied by large quantities of lager, after matches or as part of a "lads' night out".

Heard at LIVESTRONG Sporting Park: Section 102 June, July, August 2011, reportedly tried in the Cauldron also in 2011.  Became a standard in mid to late 2012.
Heard from other MLS supporters groups: Unknown

Why it works: original song already popular soccer chant, mild taunting of opposition, hard consonants (sound better from a large crowd), lyrics changed to local theme, short easy to memorize, could be picked up just after being heard at a game
Why it might not: Barbecue may be seen as too silly, original not well known by average SKC fan 

Gameday Preview: Match 30 vs Philadelphia Union

Sep 23rd at LIVESTRONG Sporting Park

Previous 2011 match
Sporting KC 0 -0 Philadelphia Union June 22, 2011 at PPL Park - Recap

Links to Previews: (links added as they get posted online)

• Official Sporting Kansas City Preview
• Daily Wiz KC - Justin Mayhugh - (@The DailyWizKC)
• Chat with Union blog Brotherly Game
• Preview
• Talkin' Touches Podcast - Andy Edwards and Andrew Wiebe (@AndyEdSKC and @AndrewWiebe_MLS)
• Down The By Line - Mike Kuhn (@DowntheByline)
• The Full 90 - Terez Paylor (@TheFull90)
• The Front Men - (@TheFrontMen)
• The Footy Chronicles - (@TheFootyChronicles)

From Union Sources

• Brotherly Game (SB Nation)

Previous Match Video Highlights (from MLS - Microsoft SIlverlight)



Previous Match Highlights (from MLShighlights2011 - YouTube)


Twitter Rosters
Sporting Kansas City - #SportingKC - #SKC (rare)
Philadelphia Union - #DOOP

Social Media Match Up

Facebook

Philadelphia Union 81k defeats Sporting Kansas City 43k

Twitter

Philadelphia Union 19k defeats Sporting Kansas City 18k

Sporting Kansas City News Sources

**Updated January 8, 2013**
New sources added**

Here are the sources (28!) that are automatically fed to the Ad Astra SKC Twitter account (@AdAstraSKC) to help spread the news about Sporting Kansas City. You can find the majority of them in the blog roll on the right side of the page as well. I strongly encourage you to go visit them and leave comments. (For more on why your comments are important - read here)

Official Media (4):
Sporting Kansas City Main - Twitter - Facebook
Out of the Blue (Mar 2012-present) Main**
Out and About (Jun 2012 -present) Main**
By The Numbers (May 2012-present) Main**
Academy Way (March 2012-present) - Main**
Fan Forum (March 2012-present) - Main**
Anything But (Oct 2012 - present) - Main **
Kansas City Star/The Full 90 (Charles Gooch, Terez Paylor, Tod Palmer others) - Main - Twitter

Blogs (18):
Down the Byline (Mike Kuhn) (Oct 2006 - present) - Main - Twitter - Facebook
Sporting Times (James Staritt) (Feb 2010 - present) - Main - Twitter - Facebook
Examiner: Sporting KC (Thad Bell) (May 2010-present) - Main - Twitter
The Daily Wiz (Alex Englen [former editors Justin Mayhugh, Andy Edwards]) (Jul 2010 - present) - Main - Twitter - Facebook
Sporks Take (Tony Felich and Mark Kapfer) (Feb 2011-present) - Main - Twitter
Fountain City Soccer (Alan Hainkel) (Mar 2011 - present)- Main - Twitter
The Footy Chronicles (Isaac Knopf) (Apr 2011 - present) - Main - Twitter - Facebook
Ad Astra SKC (Christian Sinclair) (Apr 2011 - present) - Main - Twitter - Facebook
The Oz Blog (Bryan McBeth) (Aug 2011 - present) - Main - Twitter - Facebook
Bleacher Report: Sporting KC (Alan Hainkel) (Sep 2011-present) - Main
Sporting KC Reports (Grace Rogers) (Nov 2011-present) - Main - Twitter
South Stand SC (Christian Sinclair, Matt Killingsworth) (Nov 2011-present) - Main
Sporting Militia (unknown) (Nov 2011-present) - Main - Twitter
This Sporting Life (unknown) (Dec 2011-present) - Main - Twitter
Fake SKC Blog (unknown) (Dec 2011 - present) - Main - Twitter
The Sporting Post (Sklyar Rolstad) (Jan 2012 - present) - Main - Twitter
brettroenigk (Brett Roenigk) (Jan 2012-present) - Main
Talkin' Touches (Andy Edwards) (Jan 2012 - Present) - Main - Podcast (see below)

Player/Media Blogs (0)

Photo-centric Blogs (2) (More photos, may offer some analysis):
Sodagraphics - Main - Flickr - Twitter - Facebook
The Back Post (Thad Bell) (Apr 2008 - Present) - Main - Twitter - Facebook

Podcasts/Radio Show (4):
Byline to the Backpost (Mike Kuhn and Thad Bell) (April 2010-present) - Main
Talkin Touches (Andy Edwards and rotating guest, formerly Andrew Wiebe) (unknown date of first podcast?) - Facebook - Main (only 2012 forward)
Sporting KC Radio Show (Josh Klingler) (July 2011-present) - Main
The Footy Front (Isaac Knopf and Alex Englen) (Jan 2012-present) - Main

Video Blog (I will not say Vlog. Oh dammit I said it):
None...yet
But check out Josh Whisenhunt's YouTube uploads for some inside scoops!

RELEGATED Blogs, podcasts etc. (12) 
(placed here if they haven't posted in over 3 months, dead links, or have noted they are closing their blog):
The Offside: KC Wizards (various) (Feb 2007 - Aug 2011) - Main
Kansas City Soccer Review (AG, Spoon/KC Hoolie, George Shook (OG)) (Jan 2008 - July 2010) - Main
Hillcrest Road (Cotton, Heineman, Ficklin) (Jan 2008 - July 2008) - Main (cached)
Sam Pierron's Fantastic Voyage (Sam Pierron) (Mar 2010 - Oct 2010) - Main
Stoppage Time (Feb 2011 - Aug 2011) (Charles Gooch) - Main (Supposedly to be resurrected)
SuPorting Club KC (unknown) (July 2011 - Dec 2011) - Main (dead link) - Twitter
The Front Men (Alex Englen**) (Apr 2011 - Jan 2011) - Main - Twitter - Facebook
Cal Williams (Announcer) (Apr 2011 - Nov 2012) - Main - Twitter
Kronberg Chronicles (Eric Kronberg - GK) (Aug 2011 - Sep 2011) - Main - Twitter
Oz City Soccer (dead link)
Metro Sports - KC Wizards blog (dead link)
KC Futbol (dead link)
MySpace - KC Wizards
Sporting KC The Sporting Way (Jan 2008 - June 2011) - Main RELEGATED Jan 2013
Sporting KC The Junior Way (Oct 2009 - Mar 2012) - Main - Twitter RELEGATED Jan 2013

If I am missing yours, or you need to update information, let me know christian@adastraskc.org
Please link to this post, do not just copy the info.