#Royal Family

Well, I’ve come to realize I’m somewhat of a sports fanatic. Yes, the one thing I’ve made fun of people both publicly and privately for so many years I’ve realized I’ve become. And honestly, I get it, I really do.

Maybe my love for my hometown sports team is because I’ve been away from my hometown for so long (going on 14 years) and when watching a game be it football or baseball, surrounded by others that are transplants from Kansas, we can’t help but bond.

We all share a lot of traits, values, information, memories, opinions, mindsets, etc. and it’s not only comforting, but invigorating, revitalizing, inspiring, familiar. In short its home. I’m around strangers but they aren’t strangers. It’s the same way pack animals indentify one of their own. And to be honest, it’s fucking awesome.

And seriously, there’s nobody better than Kansas sports fans. We really are a league of our own, a true class act. During the National Anthem of the first game of the World Series, every Royal fan in the bar stood up and removed their ball cap while it was sung. Every non-Royal fan in the joint looked at us as if we were part of some ridiculous cult performing some asinine ritual. But that’s just part of our core values; sincere politeness, respect & reverence…and of course the complete inability to give a fuck what others think.

During the heated drama of Game 7 one overzealous fan started lashing out at two Giants fans that had been attending all the games at the same bar all of us Royal fans had been frequenting. In an instant a fellow Royal fan told the guy to chill the fuck out, that the Giants fans in attendance were good people.  And after every game the Giants won (including the last game) every Royal fan went around the bar and shook the hands of every Giants fan congratulating them on a good game.

I don’t mean to blow my own self, but we’re fucking good people, fucking awesome to be exact. You can take us away from home, but it’s always in our hearts. We can’t help but be the people we are.

And seriously, what better team to represent all of us than a gang of underdogs, counted out numerous times by everyone and not once did they waiver, flinch, retreat or give up. Right up until the last second they never lost hope.

 Indeed they put their dreams on the line, knowing they could be crushed, for themselves, their teammates and their city. None of them pretentious, high profile, expensive mercenaries that lack hometown loyalty and would lend their talents to the highest bidder. They were just good old KC boys playing for the love of the game.

A game that threw them insurmountable setbacks, disappointments & failures yet they still showed up every night, despite the odds, to fight their fucking hearts out. That, I can honestly say, is just about everyone I know from Kansas. From my family, to my friends, down to the stranger sitting next to me at the bar 1500 miles away from our home, unflinching and undeterred in the eye of challenge & adversity.

We identify with teams like the Royals and the Chiefs because for the most part, they’re like us. They’re an extension of us and once you get a taste of it, plugged into that emotional matrix, you regard it as one of your own, like a child. 

Case in point, when I was at the grocery store today I was proudly wearing my KC hat and I encountered a Dodger fan with his hat and shirt who glanced at me in that certain way.  I could tell he was contemplating saying something snarky about our loss last night.

And before I could realize it I’d already planned on retaliating by grabbing a can of green beans and bashing it alongside his fat head asking him what the fuck HIS team was doing last night.

And then it hit me, I’m one of those people.  I’m for better or worse, in so many aspects, part of a gang, a group / mob mentality ready to battle on behalf of my team because my team is home. And I’ll protect and stand up for it by either word or deed.

And like I said, I get it, because my team represents my home, my entire life growing up, my friends, my dreams, my ethos, everything that is part of my psychological and sociological DNA. They represent the people I so dearly miss, both of this world and whatever lies beyond it. It’s spiritual, it’s emotional, and it’s everything that makes life exciting, all firing off at once.

And in retrospect, perhaps our Royals were not prepared to win the World Series on account of the city not having enough abandoned couches on hand to set ablaze. Nor were we prepared to celebrate by shooting each other and vandalizing the very city we were rejoicing on behalf of. No, we probably would've hugged each other (just like the stranger in a KC hat asked me to do once Gordon hit that triple in the bottom of the 9^th) & cry and scream in accomplishment.

But we don’t need the crown to know we’re already Royals and I think that’s prevalent due to the outpouring of support from fans across the internet. Sure, it would’ve been nice, but it’s never about the destination, it’s about the ride. And fuck, what an unbelievable ride it has been. One I wouldn't trade for the world, or it's title.