Lee Promsenmuong, who is currently in hospice care, has one final wish - watch his favorite team take the field one more time. Fortunately, a special visit Thursday afternoon will hopefully make that dream come true for the retired KCMO contractor.
The terminally ill 63-year-old, who simply goes by ‘Lee,’ has been a Sporting KC fan since the team’s inception. He was recently told he would be receiving tickets to Sporting’s home opener March 12 against Vancouver, a gift through Crossroads Hospice and their Gift of the Day program.’ But on Thursday afternoon, Lee found out there was much more to that "gift."
Surrounded by caretakers, a bowl of punch and a Sporting KC cake at the Rehab Center of Independence, Graham Zusi, Sporting midfielder and Lee’s favorite player, showed up as a gigantic surprise, handing over Lee’s tickets personally.
Surrounded by photographers, one would assume Lee knew something was up. However, the soccer fan still says the drop in was a tremendous surprise.
"It's amazing, a surprise [to] me … My heart is very happy … My dream come true,” said Lee.
Tears were shed minutes later, but surprisingly, weren’t coming from Lee.
"For him to choose me as his favorite, it means a lot,” said Zusi.
The veteran got emotional, saying, "It reminds us that soccer's a game and the relationships you create around that is something that doesn't come around ... very often."
Zusi has played his entire MLS career with Sporting since being drafted by the team in ’09. He has made 204 competitive appearances for the club and ranks second in club history with 56 assists in all competitions.
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Josh Helmuth can be reached at josh.helmuth@kshb.com.