Let me start off by saying that, yes, I know I’m biased. So are you. After all, isn’t that what makes sporting events fun? We all have our favorite and least favorite teams. But, does that mean it’s okay to turn a blind eye to our losses and their successes? Does that make it fair to say one team is better than the others? Just because our team does well, does it mean it’s okay for everyone to hate us or for us to gloat in their losses? Many people don’t see anything wrong with that, but imagine if these were board games, would it still be the same way?
When I was a kid, I thought my dad lived at work. During the summer, however, sometimes his boss would not be able to use some of his season tickets and, surprise(!), we would have the opportunity to go to a Royals game. Usually, this was a Friday night game. Though I played softball/baseball until I started having serious knee problems in high school, I obviously didn’t understand the differences in pro baseball, let alone the differences between the leagues. All I knew was that I was basking in some rare quality time with my dad, enjoying a sport that we both loved, in the most fun atmosphere I could imagine. When I was really young, I didn’t even realize the fireworks were a Friday night special. I thought they meant our team had won! It was much to my dismay, when I learned that, in fact, our team was apparently terrible. It didn’t matter, though, when my current favorite player would make a play, to me, it was like standing by the speaker at a rock concert.
I feel this is a huge part of what the Royal’s fan base is all about. We care about our team for reasons other than the wins and that has bonded us together whether anyone else can see it or not. Maybe other team’s fans haven’t had the opportunity for the experiences we’ve had, and people often don’t like what they don’t understand, so it is sadly unsurprising at the amount of hate our gentle team has received with their trophies.
One should consider that in comparison to most other MLB host cities, the Missouri team's fans just aren't as close in proximity. Here in the Midwest, we seem to spread out more and our number of metropolitan residents reflects that.
Most of my friends and the people that I knew, growing up, would claim to be Royals fans. Most of them, though, had been to few or no games in their lifetime, let alone in a summer. We didn’t live that close to the city, gas prices were going up and the number of parents with jobs was going down. None of those factors made them love the Royals any less.
When I worked at Disney World in 2013 was when I actually realized that Royals fans scope far beyond Kansas City. Even when our team was “terrible” fans would come to the pools (I was a lifeguard) in their KC hats and I always made a personal point to take extra splendid care of them. In the beginning, I assumed all these guests were from Kansas or Missouri, if not necessarily the Kansas City area. As it turns out, they were from all over the place! I, for one, would never have guessed there were so many fellow fans in Nebraska, Iowa, and several of the other surrounding states. It only makes sense that they wouldn’t be able to attend games on a consistent basis if I, myself, couldn’t manage to, being only a couple of hours away.
Working in “The View” at the Royals stadium (AKA, the nosebleeds), in 2014 during the time when the team was transitioning from more losses to more wins, let me tell you, the stadium never seemed like it was as empty as the numbers listed it at and the fans in attendance were definitely still passionate. The difference now is that the media is present to show it.
As you might have noticed, this might be a bit of a different approach to the outcries. Statistics can show humiliation or proof of accomplishment. People like that. People like proof. While stats may be important, the analytical aspect of the game simply is not what draws the majority of fans to baseball, so I don’t feel the need to rehash previous arguments in that way. If you’re reading this, you obviously have a computer, so feel free to look them up! I typically use the MLB site itself or baseball-reference.com, if you would like recommendations. Someone I really admire, Mayor Sly James, put it this way:
http://kcmayor.org/blog/an-open-letter-to-america-...See, us Kansas City folk are totally used to rooting for the underdog. The Chiefs aren’t typically much to brag about. We don’t have the Kings anymore. Sporting Kansas City is pretty stellar, if I do say so myself, but most people don’t seem to care about the real football (in our rural areas, soccer is not usually an option growing up, just like show choir or forensics). We are also used to friendly rivalries. KSU, KU, MU, and Wichita State, are actually pretty close together and our households are divided probably even more often than we’d like. That said, if we only went to games we were pretty sure we would win, then everyone would see what an empty stadium really looks like. Kansas City would undoubtedly become notorious for it and no owners would want their teams here. It just goes to show you how things get blown out of proportion in the media and online.
Back to when I was a kid: I thought it was so cool that Missouri has two baseball teams. It sounds like it could be a perfectly friendly rivalry, right? Almost, like a brotherhood. Boy was I wrong! When I first went to college, I went to Truman State University. Those of you who don’t know much about Kirksville or Truman, just know that about ¾ of the student population is from St. Louis, and almost all the others are from Kansas City. Let me tell you, a lot of those cardinals fans were oppressive! Freshman year, I had brought a little TV to use in my dorm. There was no reason for me to mind sharing it, except that most of the time, Royals games weren’t available, so one of my roommates would watch her snazzy Cardinals almost every evening. As a baseball lover, I totally didn’t mind letting her watch, and watched with her sometimes. However, whenever there WAS a Royals game on, of course I wanted to watch it. She would freak out on me, telling me I was a traitor to my own team for watching the Cardinals with her and I didn’t deserve to watch my ridiculous team clown around and she sure didn’t want to waste her time sleeping through such a pathetic game when she could be watching her beloved Freese (I’ve never been so happy to see a player be traded than when Freese went to Anaheim— all because of her.). When I would get my way, the Royal way, she would fuss and be annoying the entire game. Those were some long baseball games. Yeah, she could have gone somewhere else and let me watch my team on my TV. This was my personal awakening to a real, “riot fan,” as we called her.
Instances like this probably go both ways with every rivalry there has ever been. Several of my friends from St. Louis are Cardinals fans and we can have perfectly peaceful badgering sessions over our teams. Sadly, I’ve also seen fans from both sides become angry and emotional to the point where they say terrible things to one another. I am ashamed at some of the comments I have seen/heard come from my own fellow Royals fans. But, I must say, I have not seen/heard nearly as many from my team’s people.
Over the past year, working in local and sports retail, I am proud to say that even the crazy Royals fans are mostly crazy about how they represent their team and not about shooting down the other teams. Constantly, strangers in the stores are having educated and realistic discussions, and are quick to welcome and advise shoppers who support other teams, but are just in to find a gift for someone else. I mean, who does that? What has been even more surprising to me has been learning that we have a huge number of fellow fans in California and in Florida. More than a few times those customers have commented about how nice it is to shop in a sports store where they've never heard a yelling match or seen a fight over team pride. Or how I like to put it, in a civil environment. I'm not saying all other teams' fans duke it out in silly places, but our fanbase certainly has the common sense not to.
For days and days I could go on and on and on (and on and on), about ways I've seen people show their love for the Royals over my lifetime (that's right, not just the last two years), both in and out of the stadium. For even longer, I could talk about all my own personal experiences and showcases of fanship. Since y'all likely aren't here for a novel, what I love most about the Royals is who Dayton Moore has built into it. The Kauffmans were an amazing family that left some great shoes to fill. I imagine them as the epitome of born and bred Kansas City citizens. Mr. Moore certainly has not let me down. Our current players are great dudes. They are human, and I’m sure make mistakes just like anyone, but they truly are local heroes. During both World Series appearances I have been very proud to see all the feedback about our cities' friendliness and generosity. This, is what I believe truly brings out the bond in our Royal family.
Being part of the Kansas City family is not based on wins or losses (though, winning is a seriously awesome bonus), rather, it's built on a lifetime's worth of faith and hope and really awesome people that happen to know how to rock a tastebud's world. But, like I said, I'm biased. Who are you to tell me not to be?
When it comes to pointing the finger at another team to make oneself feel better about a loss or season (or any reason), let me advise you, pointing fingers is rude. Wouldn’t it be easier on everyone if we could share the love and lose the hate?
