View from my seat.
Recently I was part of history. I was there live at Kauffman Stadium on September 30, 2014 when the Kansas City Royals won the wild card playoff game against the Oakland A’s. The game where they were ahead 3-2, then fell behind 3-7 and came back scratching and clawing to win 8-7 in the 12th inning.
It’s been 29 years since the Kansas City Royals have been in the playoffs. In fact, the last time the Royals were in the playoffs was in 1985 when they won the World Series against the St. Louis Cardinals. At that time I was a college junior in Des Moines. I remember the stories about people driving back and forth on I-70 for the interstate World Series. I remember catching some of the games on TV between studying.
“Game of Thrones” seats. Salvy hit the game winning single down the left side.
I haven’t always been a Royals fan. Growing up in Northern Iowa, I lived closer to Minneapolis. So I was a huge Minnesota Twins fan. We used to take the motorhome up on weekends and stay in the parking lot of the stadium. I had so much fun running around the stadium during the games and afterwards when the stadium emptied out. I almost got locked in once after the grounds crew were done. It’s surprising they didn’t kick us out sooner.
Now I’m in Kansas City, home of the Royals and Chiefs and Sporting KC and T-Bones Baseball and Missouri Mavericks and Kansas Speedway and FC Kansas City and… Yes, this city has SO much to offer when it comes to professional sports, add college sports and you have a very sports-oriented city.
Winning sports teams too. Sporting KC won the MLS Championship Cup in December 2013, FC Kansas City are the 2014 NWSL Champions, and the Missouri Comets are the 2013 MASL Champions. That’s just soccer. Then you have the Chiefs finishing in second place in the AFC West Division in 2013. The Missouri Mavericks have been in the playoffs every year since their first season in 2009. And the T-Bones were just named the American Association’s 2014 organization of the year. Any way you slice it, Kansas City is a winning city. Heck, the Huffington Post just declared Kansas City the “coolest” city in America.
The night before the Royals had their big wild card win, across the parking lot the Kansas City Chiefs smacked around the New England Patriots (41-14) and reclaimed the Guinness World Record for loudest stadium. The energy of the Chiefs game was carried back across the parking lot to the Royals game the next night. I have never been to a baseball game where the energy was so high and the crowd was so loud, and I’ve been to a lot of baseball games.
In 1985, most people who attended a baseball game either dressed up or wore whatever they wanted. Now it’s all about wearing the team’s colors. Kauffman Stadium was a sea of blue Tuesday. I think there were maybe four people in Oakland yellow. It was amazing to see all the blue and all the blue towels flying in the sky (giveaways when you walked in).
Collision in the outfield 12th inning.
Then there was the noise. Football worthy noise. It is something when an entire crowd of 40,000+ people are yelling “Billy, Billy, Billy” or “Nori, Nori, Nori” or another player’s name when at bat. I can’t imagine what it was like for the players on the field to hear their names chanted and the noise volume hitting them like a wave of emotion. The Oakland outfielders who collided in the 12th inning couldn’t hear each other. Sam Flude said if they had been standing next to each other they still wouldn’t have heard each other. That collision by the back wall allowed Eric Hosmer to end up on third base.
Of course when Ned Yost pulled pitcher James Shields, who lots of people felt wasn’t ready to be pulled including Shields from his facial expression, and replaced him with a rookie who allowed a 3 run homer to eliminate our lead, really quieted the crowd. I let a few words fly and I’m grateful no little kids were sitting near me. It was so discouraging to see 3-7 on the board for several innings. But then the crowd wound back up, fired up the Royals, who never gave up and the volume increased again.
Courtesy of KC Star.
As the Royals slowly chipped away at the deficit with seven different players stealing bases, sacrifice bunts and just plain determination, the chants started up again. One chant that became a staple at every Sporting KC game in 2013 as they were racing to the MLS Championship Cup title is “I believe that we will win.” It became a city-wide cheer for weeks if not months as they drew closer to the cup. So to hear it at the Royals game just made me smile. I wondered if out-of-town fans even knew what that chant means to this city. I wonder what the players were thinking when they heard 40,000+ people telling them we believe.
Tonight the Royals start their ALDS series against the Angels in Los Angeles and Kansas City is ready to cheer them on at several different watch parties around town. Stores are selling out of Royals gear, fountains are flowing blue water, social media accounts are sporting Royals photos and using #TaketheCrown and local businesses are rolling back prices to 1985 on certain items or giving 29% discounts. I’m just trying to get my voice back.
I don’t remember being in a city more excited about their sports teams. Sporting KC sells out every home game, Kansas City is tops in the NFL for tailgating at a Chiefs game and no matter if the Royals are good or bad, the fans show up. There are no words to convey what it’s like to be at Kauffman Stadium to watch the “Boys in Blue” succeed and finally make it to the playoffs. Kansas City loves their sports and I can’t imagine not living in a sports town.
So GO ROYALS – I believe that we will win!
Until next time…enjoy the view from your passenger seat.
Views from the Passenger Seat 