Mathias Kniepeiss/Getty Images(Bleacher Report)What comes to mind you think of the term home-field advantage? To some clubs it is just a saying and a hopeful truth, while to others it is a true existence as their stadium and their fans have a profound effect on the opposition.
To say that football is a game that brings out the full passion of its fans in an understatement in many different categories.

This week's spat between Joe Jordan and Rino Gattuso prompted the usual sanctimonious outpourings about the disgraceful behaviour of footballers, as well as the usual counter-responses from fans that actually we really enjoy the occasional on-pitch contretemps. Both opinions have more or less reached the point of cliche, but like many cliches, both have some degree of truth.

Arsenal's new Number One is making quite a name for himself in the opening weeks of the season.

He made a string of fine saves in the cauldron of Udine, including a Seaman-esque penalty stop, to effectively win Arsenal £25m and guarantee their participation in this year's Champions League.

The Cauldron has arranged a Meet The New Players Night/2011 Send-Off Rally for Monday Night, March 14th. As I write this, they are on the phone arranging for more players to attend. So head down to Johnny's Tavern in Power and Light. Officially it starts at 6PM but show up when you can and say hi to some Sporting Kansas City players.

The Cauldron has arranged a Meet The New Players Night/2011 Send-Off Rally for Monday Night, March 14th. As I write this, they are on the phone arranging for more players to attend. So head down to Johnny's Tavern in Power and Light. Officially it starts at 6PM but show up when you can and say hi to some Sporting Kansas City players.

The season is just over a week away from starting. Seriously, containing my excitement for the season is getting hard to do. While I still have my questions about the team, I'm so ready for this season to start. I mean a week from now I'll be in LA for the opener against Chivas USA. Trips to LA and Chicago to kick off the season will certainly help with my excitement for this season.

It seems like only yesterday I was posting my first thoughts via the tongue & cheek MLS Manifesto. The major gripe? As a Kansas City Spurs, err Wiz, err Wizards, err Sporting, supporter, I had grown up watching my heroes plod about in a cavernous and always empty American football stadium, Arrowhead.

LIVESTRONG Sporting Park debuts tonight in KC. (Getty Images)

Last night things got off to an interesting start in Columbus as the Crew took down RSL 2-1 in a surprising result to some. The Crew came from behind to get the three points and moved up the standings in the Eastern Conference in the process.

The worst thing about tonight's game was not the Michael Kennedy no-PK call, it was the response by the Cauldron. I've been in the Cauldron since it was in the corner of Arrowhead, section 114 and I've never really felt ashamed of being there. Tonight I did. Seriously disgraceful crap by multiple fans who felt it was alright to throw shit on the field after Kennedy blew the penalty call.

Once again it was another special night for Major League Soccer and those who have supported the Wiz, Wizards and now Sporting Kansas City as Livestrong Sporting Park opened up to rave reviews. A mid-west stadium with a European feel has created another crown jewel of stadiums within MLS.

More photos A few fireworks in front of the Cauldron... The Members stand (The Cauldron) Robb Heineman welcoming us home... Some more fireworks. I like this shot... While some did not see it, the Stealth did fly over. Rumor is that he had to vear off center because of an unauthorized helicopter in the area.

Good to see a large number of Malaysian fans come down for the WCQ against Singapore. Some estimates suggest about 1,000.
As far as I can make out there were numbers of Negeri Sembilan and Selangor fans in that number and I also recall seeing a Johore state flag in the away enclosure.
Plenty written about incidents both during and after the game and as these pictures show one security official was pushed to the ground after he waded into the Malaysian fans during the second half.

You don't need an Italian football expert to tell you Gian Piero Gasperini was off to a bad start at Inter. Even though he has lead the Nerazzurri in fewer than a half-dozen competitive matches, his team looked nothing short of horrendous in that time. It can be argued he did, in fact, deserve the pink slip handed to him this morning.

photo courtesy of Jarred Donalson
It's amazing what a new stadium, with a capacity over 10,385 can do for a team's average attendance. Combine that with a team that is doing well on the field and an atmosphere that has vaulted the Cauldron up into the upper echelon of supporters' groups and you'll see a massive increase in attendance.

It started with a (probably not too serious)tweet and ended with Sporting Kansas City players and fans playing in the snow. A snowball fight, snow soccer and even some sledding...Enjoy the slide show. For the full galleryThanks to the Cauldron (especially Sean Dane and Jeff Szajnuk) for getting this organized, the Kansas City Repertory Theatre (for letting us use their park), Sporting Kansas City

It started with a (probably not too serious)tweet and ended with Sporting Kansas City players and fans playing in the snow. A snowball fight, snow soccer and even some sledding...Enjoy the slide show. For the full galleryThanks to the Cauldron (especially Sean Dane and Jeff Szajnuk) for getting this organized, the Kansas City Repertory Theatre (for letting us use their park), Sporting Kansas City

The Carling Cup is still a much derided competition, scoffed at and labelled a 'Mickey Mouse' Cup. And while I agree it doesn't have the charm of the FA Cup or the glamour of the Champions League, that claim is usually made by those who are knocked out or see their reserve players play in [...]

Internazionale were made to battle for a place in the semi finals of the Coppa Italia; they faced Napoli in the cauldron that is the San Paulo. Both teams fielded their strongest available line ups, with Inter deciding to pair new signing Ranocchia with Cordoba at the heart of their defence. But despite fielding such a strong team, Napoli were the better team.

You're probably wondering what took so long, but both quality and genius take time.
Wait no longer! Sporting KC and their supporters group, The Cauldron, have released their "Boon Boo Ree" shirt.
If you're a fan of creative espanol commentary in T-shirt form then you should definitely pick up one of these Teal Bunbury shirts.

Rangers new on-loan striker El-Hadji Diouf is ready to face a cauldron of hate in Sunday's Scottish Cup 5th round tie with bitter Glasgow rivals Celtic.

Diouf who in 2003 spat at a Celtic fan in a UEFA Cup match when playing for Liverpool is set to make his debut in the Old Firm on Sunday having arrived from Blackburn on Monday on loan at Ibrox.

Two-time finalists Valencia host unpredictable German outfit Schalke 04 in the Last 16 UEFA Champions League first-leg with Schalke striker Raul set to return back to his motherland.

The hosts will be typically on guard as the legendary former Real Madrid forward seeks to shoot his team past the Valencia rearguard and into the quarter-finals for the second time ever.

In the aftermath of Arsenal's European death in the Camp Nou, the football world is wondering just who if anyone can beat the behemoth of Barcelona to the biggest prize.

The Gunners could yet turn out to be the English champions in 2011 but will not be making the trip to Wembley in May for the Champions League final.

I'm a day late in posting this, but yesterday the latest From the Byline to the Back Post. We talk Gold Cup, playoffs, membership benefits, preseason news, and the Missouri Comets. Check it out on iTunes and Posterous.
Music in between the segments is provided by The Vandon Arms and by the Cauldron.

Sporting Kansas City fulfilled there promise to the fans (members) of providing tickets to traveling fans. They provided over 300 tickets to the match in Chicago. The Cauldron brought 2 buses packed with fans and others came by planes. trains and automobiles. There was also large representation from the Milwaukee area.

Sporting Kansas City fulfilled there promise to the fans (members) of providing tickets to traveling fans. They provided over 300 tickets to the match in Chicago. The Cauldron brought 2 buses packed with fans and others came by planes. trains and automobiles. There was also large representation from the Milwaukee area.

Fire Country, I'm heartbroken. I'm distressed. I'm crushed. I'm angry. What could bring on such emotions? A sub sandwich place located in Kansas City is offering free subs every time the Fire lose. Wait, I'm sorry I should have warned you to hold off on reading this until after your coffee, following your morning smoke, or told you to ignore this until later in the day if you left your humble abode in any kind of heightened sense of frustration.

By JOSE M. ROMERO

Sporting Kansas City was out to show that on this night of nights, there indeed was no place like home. In Kansas, at the 10th and newest soccer-specific stadium in Major League Soccer.

It didn't quite work out the way the club hoped.

On the outside looking in. Through the fence peering into LIVESTRONG Sporting Park.A magically night for American soccer in Kansas City as LIVESTRONG Sporting Park made its debut in Major League Soccer. The on-field product couldn't match the beauty of the stadium itself as Sporting KC and Chicago Fire settled for a 0-0 draw.

LIVESTRONG Sporting Park debuts tonight in KC. (Getty Images)

Last night things got off to an interesting start in Columbus as the Crew took down RSL 2-1 in a surprising result to some. The Crew came from behind to get the three points and moved up the standings in the Eastern Conference in the process.

BBC Sport Aston Villa sign Shay Given from Manchester City on five-year deal.

In probably the most cost effective transfer in the close season to date, Aston Villa today signed Republic of Ireland international goalkeeper Shay Given to a 5 year deal.

Given is widely regarded as one of the top goalies in the Premier League despite having spent most of last season on the bench as backup to Manchester City's England goalkeeper Joe Hart.

I want to take this opportunity to inform our newest readers that not only can this site be blunt at times, but there may be sparse usage of profanity as well.

I'm certain some people find this outrageous or just off-putting and that's ok. This is simply my way of saying this blog is probably not for you, and it might be best to unsubscribe.

Is this man on his way to becoming a legend?

This was a reaffirming and exhilarating win over Udinese. The pall, the gloom, the self doubt that had dogged the club since the Paleolithic era was lifted and now Arsenal go into the group stage with a sense of momentum. Did we hear a great huge sigh of collective relief?

Liverpool winger Stewart Downing is optimistic of a successful 2011/12 season and is hopeful that they can garner back-to-back victories this weekend by defeating Bolton Wanderers at Anfield.
Downing joined the Reds from Aston Villa this summer and has started in each of their two league matches against Sunderland and Arsenal.

Last night was a pretty cool experience, above and beyond the result. Thanks to Dave (and Arlo, in a roundabout way) it was my first foray into GA. That is certainly a unique experience that I'd recommend to anyone (except maybe those bringing young children). On the one hand, it's a lot of work jumping around and singing for 90 minutes (or 120 minutes, if your team decides to let some Panamanian minnows into the game for some reason) and you lose some perspective on the match - both visually and emotionally - but you're putting yourself in the middle of the cauldron of fan energy that defines the fan experience in Seattle (and elsewhere in Cascadia).

Today an interesting comment was posted on the KC Cauldron's Twitter account. According to the Cauldron, Sporting KC has sold "hundreds of tickets in the members stand to Guadalajara fans". If true (and usually if things like this aren't true the team immediately takes to Big Soccer to respond) this is just asking for problems.

Yesterday I talked about the potential issue of Sporting KC selling tickets in the Members Stand to Chivas Guadalajara fans in the hundreds. Today some good news and a common sense move by the Sporting KC front office. Word from one of the leadership in the Cauldron is that the team has canceled all tickets bought in the members stand by Chivas fans and they've been reissued to the "away section".

The full gallery can be found here Not sure I am qualified to say who sings better, but I enjoy the Cauldron's singing a whole lot!

This midweek looked to be a tough week for premier league representatives in the Europa League as no teams managed to pick up three points, although the likes of Stoke City and Tottenham Hotspurs can consider the draws they got were pretty positives considering they were playing away.

Meanwhile, the same thing can't really be said for Fulham, as they picked up their one point in front of the club's die hard fans at Craven Cottage.

This midweek looked to be a tough week for premier league representatives in the Europa League as no teams managed to pick up three points, although the likes of Stoke City and Tottenham Hotspurs can consider the draws they got were pretty positives considering they were playing away.

Meanwhile, the same thing can't really be said for Fulham, as they picked up their one point in front of the club's die hard fans at Craven Cottage.

For the record, the scene at CenturyLink Field on Wednesday was everything you'd want, a cauldron of mean green, awash in Open Cup frenzy. And also for the record, Seattle is a deserving Open Cup champ, a club that takes the competition seriously and now has solid historical evidence to prove it. (The Sounders won their third consecutive Open Cup crown, the first side in 40 years to do so.