What goes into Kansas City Current game day at CPKC Stadium? More than you might think

Sometimes, in the heat of a KC Current home game, Trina Hawkins leaves behind the singing and drumming of the supporters stands and takes a lap around CPKC Stadium.

Often, she likes what she sees. Or rather, what she hears.

Shots, shots, shot-shot-shot-shots! Everybody!

We want another one, just like the other one: We! Want! Two!

“I can hear other sections doing the chants, and I can hear the whole stadium,” Hawkins said. “(I’ve) heard from different people around the league that people hear us, they know that we’re there. And that’s pretty cool.”

Hawkins is the president of the Kansas City Blue Crew, the Current’s de-facto supporters group. If you’ve ever watched a Current game but haven’t heard of the Blue Crew, you’ve at least heard them.

They — along with the Surface Tension drumline — are the ones responsible for leading the south supporters stands in the songs, drums and chants that flood CPKC for 90 minutes plus stoppage time.

“We definitely embrace it and are pretty stoked that we’ve created an atmosphere where our players love to play and where their opponents don’t,” Hawkins said. “Or maybe they do love it, because there’s so much noise and women’s soccer hasn’t always had that.”

Women’s soccer also hasn’t had a place like CPKC Stadium, the world’s first purpose-built stadium for a professional women’s sports team. This year, it was even named one of Time magazine’s “World’s Greatest Places.”

It’s no surprise, then, that going to a Current home game means more than just watching a soccer match. The atmosphere is electric, with a roaring crowd, blaring train horns (in honor of the railway company the stadium was named for) and the sharp, smoky scent of pregame pyrotechnics. All of this comes from a careful collaboration between stadium staff and fans like the Blue Crew.

A collaboration, for CPKC’s inaugural year, that has been building from the ground up.

Hosting from the big screen

Lydia Taylor is the Current’s in-stadium host and a regular presence on the stadium’s big screen.

“Being at CPKC this year has been — I mean, there’s not a word in my vocabulary that describes it,” Taylor said. “Very rarely did a women’s sports team have this level of in-game entertainment, this level of production that goes into their match day.”

Taylor has been with the team since the beginning, from when they were the unbranded KC NWSL at Legends Field to the newly minted KC Current that split Children’s Mercy Park with Sporting KC ... to the home-turf team that’s dominated the current NWSL season.

During games, she talks to fans on the sidelines, riles the audience into being as loud as it can and helps out with the “KC Baby!” chant that kicks off every home game.

Taylor’s work hinges on a script produced by the Current’s match production office. It outlines the pregame show, halftime entertainment and updates on everything from league standings to autograph sessions on the concourse.

Once she gets a script, Taylor said she usually prepares for 72 hours before a game, both memorizing it “like the back of your hand” and getting ready “to go with the flow.” No teleprompter, mostly ad-libbing.

“It’s interesting to watch how busy we are. Not only me, but the game day crew. They’re getting so many elements and activations staged and ready to go,” Taylor said. “We’re all behind the scenes grinding (to make everything) seamless, but it’s not behind a curtain — we really try to not look like we’re stressed or running around.”

According to Taylor, what makes a good host varies from stadium to stadium. Some have different audio quirks and types of scripts, while different groups of fans have quirks of their own.

Taylor believes her style as a host is letting her authenticity shine.

“That sets me apart because I’m born and raised here. Just trying to be an extension of our community and relate to all the fans out there, I have a good mixture of conversational authenticity and some hype in there as well,” Taylor said.

And unique to CPKC, Taylor added, is that she’s able to host the best she can thanks to the Current’s community at large.

“Getting to know who makes the KC Current fan base tick and why they love the Current and why it matters to them (helps) make sure that I’m doing this job for the team that they love,” Taylor said. “I’m not just on the video board on the microphone, I’m just one of them who has a microphone, and I hope to do them justice.”

Representing the KC Current fan base

Hawkins and the Blue Crew also work to do the Current’s broader fan base justice.

Beyond the megaphoned capos leading chants and songs, and the brightly painted tifos that decorate the stands, there’s a good deal of behind-the-scenes work that livens CPKC games.

The Blue Crew is organizationally independent from the Current, so much of Hawkins’ job involves communicating with the Current’s front office.

“I do a lot of education,” Hawkins said. “What I mean by that is a lot of the front office people are from other sports, so they’re not really used to soccer. The (culture) is different with soccer. It’s cool to have in-stadium music and things, but really, we should be driving the majority of the chants and noise that’s happening in the stadium.”

Hawkins said it’s taken a bit of time — involving some mix-ups with music on the speakers playing over a Blue Crew chant — but the Current has meshed well with the Blue Crew this season, from field staff to front-office liaisons.

The collaboration doesn’t stop there. If you’ve ever stood and gotten tired in the supporters section, you can thank the Blue Crew’s advocacy for benches in a section that’s often standing-only at other soccer venues.

“It excludes people. I mean, there’s people with disabilities that maybe can’t afford to sit in a more expensive seat, but they want to come to a soccer match,” Hawkins said.

These days, the Blue Crew is lobbying for south stand cupholders.

“It’s funny when you’re a supporters group because people think, ‘Oh, well, you just love the team,’” Hawkins said. “Everything we do is for the team, but we also hold the front office accountable for decisions they make.”

It’s a labor of love. Hawkins balances her Blue Crew commitments (which also mean showing up to games three hours early to set up drums and flags) with a full-time job — all Blue Crew leadership, Hawkins mentioned, have full-time jobs.

But all of that voluntary work, in organizing game-day festivities and both physical and social inclusivity throughout the stadium, seems to be worth it.

“There’s a really homegrown aspect, and thankfully everybody gets along,” Hawkins said. “We love it, and we’re all there to have a good time.”

Long after the final whistle at CPKC Stadium, the downtown skyline glows teal and red through the night.

Game day, in Kansas City, ends only when the fans feel like it.