What do you say about these Kansas City Royals that hasn't already been written, told or explained? That a whole city has stayed up well past its collective bed time on Tuesday, Thursday and Friday of this week? That two guys that were written off at various times in their young careers have now hit home runs, on consecutive nights in extra innings, that resulted in the winning runs? That a lost generation of baseball fans has momentarily hit the "pause" button on their love affair with Sporting KC and is actually wearing Royals paraphernalia and talking baseball? Yes, yes and yes.
I've lived in this city for 35 years and have never experienced this community as united in an "isn't this fun" vibe given the Royals current postseason run. Sure, the team won the World Series in 1985 and played in the Series in 1980. Yet, this feels very, very different and I think it's been caused by the 29 years of baseball purgatory for fans in this city.
No one, and I mean no one, saw this coming. The Royals came up a game short in the AL Central and were thus placed in that most awful of sudden death formats--Major League Baseball's Wild Card game. We all know what happened with that storybook comeback and finish. Next, the team won in extra innings in the ALDS not one, but twice, and now has two chances at home to wrap up this series and move on to the ALCS.
Let's not get ahead of ourselves and anoint the Royals a World Series participant just yet. For now, let's soak up the euphoria, don our blue, and rejoice in the fact that this is now, indeed, a #BlueOctober. Whodathunkit!?
No comments:
Post a Comment