Let the 2011 Pre-Season Begin

The first official day of Sporting Kansas City pre-season is in the books as players reported for entrance physicals, team meetings and some preliminary tests on Monday at the team's Swope Park Training Facility. A lot has changed since the guys last left KC over two months ago -- the new name and look, Gold Cup coming to KC, Teal's scoring spree (Generation adidas, Stoke City, USMNT) and perhaps most of all, 75 days worth of construction progress on the stadium they'll be opening in June.

But somewhere on the list is another deserving mention...Graham Zusi's once clean-shaven face transformed into a full-fledged, ear-to-ear beard. Rumors around the locker room were he had spent the off season hibernating in a cabin in Wyoming doing Rocky IV-style workouts. Michael Harrington's Fabio-esque long locks get an honorable mention, as all those who saw him at the KCSnowmageddon last week can attest.

For a look at the some of the other guys off-season activities, check out the video interviews at SportingKC.com. Video guru Jake Yadrich also spoke to the team about what lies ahead in 2011...



Wearing the newly arrived gear, the team will hit the field for the first day of training tomorrow at 10 a.m. at the Chiefs Practice Facility.