Sunday Sit-down with Fox 4’s Harold Kuntz

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

ABC 17 Sports Anchor Collin Anderson caught up with Fox 4's Harold Kuntz in this week's edition of Sunday Sit Down.

You can watch ABC 17 Sports Anchor Collin Anderson's full sit down in the video player above.

You can also find a full transcript of the interview below.

Collin Anderson: "What is up everyone? It is Sunday sit down time and I am joined by Fox 4's Harold Koontz out in Kansas City. Harold, thank you for taking time out of what has been a very busy week for you is previewing the World Cup and a bunch of other stuff that's been going on in Kansas City. So thank you for joining us here today."

Harold Kuntz: "Yeah, thanks for having me, man."

Anderson: "Of course, so obviously the biggest tournament in all of world sports has been here in Kansas City. We've been covering it for months leading up to it. What have you kind of seen Kansas City do in Arrowhead just leading up to that first game with Argentina and Algeria leading into that first competition?"

Kuntz: "It's like the world's come to Kansas City, especially if you're from South America. Between Argentina and Ecuador this past Saturday. All the fans have been downtown. There's so many changes with, um, just the stadium, with the way the locker rooms were, the way the, the pitches, the way the stadiums formatted, the way traffic comes in, the way people are at the airports are busy. I think I read it was the 2nd busiest day at the airport, uh, the day before the Argentina match. It's been busy and you can tell how different it is around Kansas City for sure. I'm sure it's gonna cost us in the long run, but it's been a really cool experience just to be around the vibe that is the World Cup."

Anderson: "Well, I'm sure all of those costs are going to are are going to reap rewards as Argentina and Ecuador, as you said, in the first two games in Kansas City have just come out in waves. What was that first game like Argentina, Algeria? You see Arrowhead packed. It is striped white and baby blue. They're calling it Buenos Aires, Missouri in that first game. What, what was that experience like in that stadium covering that game?"

Kuntz: "Uh, nothing like I've ever seen here in Kansas City for sure, and really nothing like I've ever seen, to be honest, covering sports for, you know, nearly 22 decades now. I mean, it was, uh, Uh, it was like a Chiefs game except everybody was wearing, as you said, the white and sky blue, and, uh, I mean, they had little pockets of green for Algeria, but for the most part, it was, it was, it might as well have been 90-10 Argentina fans. We, we don't have anything to really compare, uh, to the reverence that the Argentinian national team has in their country. We, we just don't like, um, not in the US. I mean, we have our, we have our US teams who we love and admire. But for them, it's, it's, it's 10-15 steps above that. And you could just tell throughout the state how it permeates through the fan base, how they, they love Messi. I mean, I, I cannot begin to tell you how much they love that man. Um, and he is, he is everything to them. I mean, there's been a thing going on with his, his father, and there is a journalist in Argentina that reported some wrong news. Well, he got fired. So, so, so, I mean, that's just how much he's admired. Um, across that country, and it showed with the, the hat trick was the topping on the cake. His 3 goals was, uh, something to really see. The fact that that was the first that happened in Kansas City, uh, is truly amazing."

Anderson: "I mean, Kansas City, just through two of those games, you've talked about Messi and his hat trick and how historic that was. The second game almost as historic, right? Ecuador and Caracao, their first World Cup, and after that first game against Germany, where it was really kind of like a welcome to the tournament. Moment for Curacao to come back and to steal a point from Ecuador, their first point in World Cup history. That was a pretty monumental thing and just continues, right? What's that kind of meant for Kansas City that we just see history get made here over and over again and it's only been two games."

Kuntz: "Yeah, I mean, that comes with the World Cup though. There's always some semblance of history made in any World Cup, uh, throughout the history of the World Cup. I mean, I've, I can't say I've been going too long, but I've been watching the World Cup since 1990 when the US first made it and lost to Czechoslovakia, you know, 5-1, and they lost to Italy 1-0. And, um, then, of course, they hosted in 19, 1994. So every match has a little bit of history. And of course, we have our history with Lionel Messi's hat trick and then Curacao getting their first ever World Cup points. Uh, in a, in a country that has the population about the size of, uh, Kansas City, Kansas, not even Missouri, Kansas City, Kansas. So, and, you know, Ecuador, it's so crazy to see the, the, the, the dichotomy of Ecuador being, uh, a, a country that had so many expectations, but losing the Ivory Coast and now only having one point and now having to face Germany with the potential of being out of it altogether, then Curacao going in with a little bit of confidence against the Ivory Coast team who just lost at the last minute to Germany in Toronto. So now you have these. You have that group, uh, uh, very interesting, of course, outside of Germany. So, yeah, fascinating results. I mean, now we look at a, a Netherlands game match against Tunisia, where the Netherlands is tied with goal differential with Japan, and Netherlands is coming in here needing to score goals to make sure they're top of the group. Uh, Tunisia is literally the worst team in the World Cup so far. So, uh, we could see a, a high score count from the Dutch. Uh, Coming up on Thursday, so more history to be made. More history has been already made."

Anderson: "We've, we've seen that stadium painted blue and white. We've seen it painted yellow. We're expecting to see it painted orange on Thursday. And as you kind of talked about, right, Japan and the Netherlands both vying for that top spot, playing at the same time. It's all going to come down to goals. What are we kind of expecting in that next game in Kansas City?"

Kuntz: "Yeah, I expect a lot of goals from the Dutch. Um, I mean, I've got to go to a couple of their trainings too, and they've got some big names. I mean, we always discuss Argentina, their big name and their biggest name, but the Dutch have a lot of big names. I mean, if you're familiar with the Premier League and you watch Liverpool, you'll know three of the guys right at the top of the hat. Uh, Netherlands has a lot of talent and Tunisia is down and out. They're already on 2nd coach in as many games. Um, and he looked like he didn't want to be there last night in Monterey. So, um, and Netherlands, knowing that they need goals, uh, should put up goals. I like the switch that, uh, their, their coach, Ronald Koman made by You know, pressing a little more, putting 3 forwards in attack, uh, when they had the opportunity, and it paid off in a big win over Sweden down in Houston. But I think what's cooler is the Dutch fans are bringing their vibes to Kansas City. We've heard about the orange walk, uh, to the stadium. They're gonna be doing it here. They'll be going from downtown to, uh, Fanfest, and it's gonna make for really cool scenes. In in downtown Kansas City and near the stadium to see the Dutch do their thing, and I think I'm actually more excited about seeing that than I am the match itself because that's gonna be a really cool thing. And with the match starting at 6 o'clock, it's gonna be during rush hour. So it's perfect. They're gonna stop traffic in the middle of Kansas City, and, and I can't wait to watch. Yeah, that's definitely something to look out for all of the fans, the game. It's gonna be a show.

Anderson: "For sure. One last thing that I want to kind of preview is that first knockout stage in Kansas City. Group K. We kind of all expected Portugal to run away with that one, but the draw with the Congo there and now it's kind of Colombia that's in the driver's seat. What are we kind of expecting to shake out in that group as we kind of looked at who could still come to Kansas City."

Kuntz: "Yeah, I believe Portugal's got to find the answer to the question of, do you still want to rely on Cristiano Ronaldo or not? And he just turned 41 not too long ago, and it's showing, um, you know, age is always gonna be undefeated. And Portugal, I believe their best team is without him. Uh, the problem is they have that just dependency on Ronaldo they've had for so long. And if he's not finishing around the goal, Then what purpose do you serve, quite frankly, in, uh, uh, a three-game season for them, especially after the tie with uh Congo. So, and you would expect that Colombia versus Portugal, which is a game played in Miami, by the way, so there's gonna be a lot of Colombian fans with that thing. Um, you can, you can expect Colombia to give a good go of it, and they don't have, they're not short of talent either. Luis Diaz still plays on that ball club, and he's still a threat to score, and they still got, uh, James Rodriguez on the team, even though he's a little older in the tooth as well, but they've still got some name talent in Colombia, and they've got their fans behind them. That will be split because the Colombians will find a way to get the arrowhead, so too will the Argentinians. And the fact that Argentina is already staying here makes it even more vibrant. I think that would be a really cool atmosphere if, if we get to that point."

Anderson: "That, that South American rivalry, definitely something to look out for in that quarterfinal match that'll be here in Kansas City. Harold, thank you so much for taking time out of your busy week to join us here on Sunday. Sit down for the rest of you guys. We'll be right back after the break."