If you haven’t lived in Kansas City the past 29 years, it’s
hard to understand what this October meant for us. It’s hard for an outsider to
understand how far we’ve come. How bad we truly were. I remember buying tickets
for Royals games at $7 a piece and the best part of a game being the stale hot
dog I ate during buck night. Many times I drove by Kauffman Stadium on a
Saturday afternoon and saw more empty seats than filled ones. A town that at
times would have rather of had no team at all then to continue and support the
Royals.
I was born and raised in a city with both a professional
football and baseball team, yet I’ve never experienced the Big Dance in either
sport. Until now. Until October 2014 when the Royals made it to the Postseason
and ultimately, the World Series.
I got to experience a city rally together, Royals hats
everywhere, chatter amongst strangers about the game in line at Starbucks, kids
running around blue fountains with Kansas City flags waving them like a call to
battle. I witnessed crowded stores with people standing in line for a t-shirt.
I drove around this city in awe as businesses, schools, Westport, The Plaza,
even Arrowhead, all came together to support our boys in blue.
I saw a young team in spite of being overlooked and laughed
at, show big, royal blue heart.
When the Royals made it to the World Series after 29 years
of not even making the postseason, it was what dreams are made of. After a hellacious
week, the series was tied 3-3 and it all came down to this. Game 7 at Kauffman.
Hollywood directors can’t write a script this good.
But unlike a movie script ending, the Royals lost with a
final score of 3-2. A triple by Alex Gordon in the bottom of the 9th
followed by a pop fly ball to third by Perez ended the game. And just like
that, October baseball was over.
Optimistic fans flooded Facebook with encouraging words
like,
“Don’t worry, we’ll get them next year!”
But what if we don’t? Because more than likely, we won’t.
It hard to explain why giving it everything you have,
training right, working hard and wanting it more than anything else in the
world, simply isn’t enough sometimes.
It’s hard to explain why David never beats Goliath.
Oh, but sometimes, he does. Because even though we lost the
World Series, the Royals won a wild card game in the bottom of the 12th
and Kansas City got to witness what some are calling one of the best games of
any sport ever played.
Then the Royals went on to sweep the Angels, statistically
the best team in baseball with the most wins during the regular season. And
sometimes taking down Goliath looks like sweeping the O’s to win the ALCS and
taking the Giants to game seven, bottom of the 9th in the World
Series.
When you lose the World Series, it’s almost like grieving.
First, you are in shock, then angry and finally obsessively replaying the final
moments over and over again in your mind wondering what could have been
different.
But after a good cry and plenty of lamenting, something
keeps us coming back. Something wakes us up in the morning, excited for next
season, willing to put ourselves through it all over again.
For the players, it may be the love of the game and the
history and relationship they have with baseball.
For the fans, I think its community. I think it’s belonging
to something bigger than you. I think it’s participating in something that
brings friends, family and a city together.
I think its hope. I think it’s the lesson that teaches us to
give it everything you have because you never know if you never try.
So today I tip my hat to you, The Kansas City Royals. THANK
YOU. It was a hell of a season and you should be damn proud of yourselves.
