PHOENIX, Ariz — It's a typical night at the ballpark outside of Phoenix for the Isidore family. While they may live in the "Valley of the Sun," there's no mistaking their love for the "City of Fountains."
"Sports was a big part of my life growing up," said Hickman Mills graduate and KC native Jason Isidore, a Phoenix transplant. "Obviously, playing baseball and Kansas City sports specifically, so I wanted a place when we built our house where I could actually go and feel like I could step back into the 80s."
Isidore has lived in Phoenix for nearly 20 years. As the only Kansas City sports fan on the block, he's delivering the message to locals of just how significant his hometown teams are.
"We're one of the most underrated sports towns in America, but to me it's the best." Isidore said.
The Isidores say watching the Chiefs on Sunday is a sacred holiday, where the intensity in the man cave rivals the action on the field.
"There is a lot of yelling," Halle Isidore, 10, said. "He's very loud like, when you don't score a point, he'll get very mad and he likes to scream. It's kind of annoying sometimes, but I have to deal with it every Sunday."
According to son Jack, the cave is an exclusive place: "My dad doesn't allow any friends in here. Sometimes, it scares me, because I will be watching and there's an interception and he will slam his hand on the couch and I will look over and jump real quick."
It all goes to show that you can always leave town, but the love for your hometown teams will always be there.
"It never leaves you when you," Isidore said. "Grow up a Kansas City Royals fan or a Kansas City Chiefs fan, you're a Chiefs and a Royals fan for life. I'm trying to represent the Chiefs and the Royals in a small way in the desert. It's exciting being a Chiefs and a Royals fan. Kansas City sports is in my blood."
