An Ode to the Kansas City Royals.

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 9^th 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 12^th 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 9^th 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.