Fuller sound adds to rhythm of play during KC Current matches at Children’s Mercy Park
Kansas City Current home games have a distinct sound, one that’s louder and bolder than before.
That’s because the the Surface Tension drumline group is bigger than before, too.
During its first season of competition in the National Women’s Soccer League, the team was supported by the fan-fueled percussion ensemble’s beats for home games at Legends Field in Kansas City, Kan.
Now that the team is playing down the street at the more spacious Children’s Mercy Park, Surface Tension has expanded, too.
“They’ve made it an occasion where the enthusiasm, the energy, is infectious,” Current coach Matt Potter said.
Led by North Kansas City High School band director Carrie Epperson, Surface Tension is an official addition to the Blue Crew supporters group this season. It’s comprised of some of Epperson’s fellow teachers and Blue Crew members with a background in music.
Epperson credited the 2019 Women’s World Cup for nurturing her love for the game. She was searching for a team to follow when the Current announced the return of NWSL soccer to Kansas City in late 2020.
She and her wife decided to join up with the KC Blue Crew at a tifo-painting party. Tifos are large, elaborate banners created by supporters groups. Usually unfurled after the singing of the national anthem, they typically bear messages of encouragement and a cheeky slogans.
Given the size of the average tifo, a large workspace is usually needed to pull it together. Epperson offered space for tifo painting in her band room at North Kansas City High, figuring it was the least she could do if she really wanted get more involved.
As she started attending KC Current games regularly, she asked if she could bring her own drum and play the supporters group’s songs and chants .
“So I brought my drum and my drum instructor,” she recalled. “We started playing and it was really, really fun. I remember walking the concourse at halftime and people kept asking us, ‘Are you gonna do this again? Would you come back and play again?’”
Fast-forward to the Current’s buildup toward the 2022 season. Epperson filled out a survey for season-ticket members asking how they’d like to get more involved. She filled out the survey saying she’d play drums again, and five minutes after submitting it she got a call from Blue Crew leadership asking if she’d be willing to lead the drumline. She obliged and Surface Tension was born.
Today, Surface Tension is comprised of Epperson, seven other music teachers and the occasional person just eager to bang on a drum. The group debuted at the Current’s Challenge Cup home match against Racing Louisville, and its support has not gone unnoticed by the Current’s players.
“Having them have our backs and being able to hear them gives us the extra boost that we need,” said defender Kristen Edmonds. “Being able to play in front of them is a little extra motivation for us, as well.”
Epperson is glad to be a part of the game-day scene, noting that she got into soccer as “the thing that wasn’t band for me.”
“Now it’s become band,” she said with a laugh. “But honestly, I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
This story was originally published May 4, 2022 at 12:55 PM with the headline "Fuller sound adds to rhythm of play during KC Current matches at Children’s Mercy Park."