Ummmmm, go Royals?

Those of you who know me know I'm a Cubs fan. I cheer for them through thick and thin, wins and losses (of which there have been an awful lot of late). There was a time when I could recite the roster in order of jersey number. I watched the games religiously during the summer, even setting down my book to watch the game.

But what you may not know is that I followed the Kansas City Royals then, too. I remember listening to the games on the radio going to and from places. Denny Matthews was the voice of the team then, and I remember him talking about Amos Otis and Frank White and Hal McRae. There were nights on the way home from church or from a visit to the farm that Dad would find the Royals on the radio and we'd listen to the game.

I wasn't what you would call a die-hard fan, but I remember the Royals winning the World Series in 1985, beating the hated St. Louis Cardinals (sorry, but it's in the bylaws for Cubs fans to dislike the Cardinals with every fiber of our being). My brothers and I adopted the Royals, I think, so we'd have something to debate with our Avery cousins who cheered avidly for the Cardinals. While I wasn't necessarily part of the debates, which generally happened during games of catch or baseball in the front yard at the farm, I'm sure I talked my share of smack.

I've kept an eye on the Royals ever since, maybe figuring that they had a better shot of getting to the World Series sooner than the Cubs did. (Again, it's in the bylaws for the Cubs to be fatalistic when it comes to the outlook for a given season. Hence the phrase "maybe next year" which every Cubs fan begins chanting after the first game.) When they drafted Alex Gordon, who hails from just down the road in Lincoln and was a Husker in college, and he made the big leagues, that added a little local flair and drew my interest even more.

Plus, once Fox Sports Kansas City started broadcasting almost every Royals game, I had something to watch in the evenings. When I'd get home from work and not have a game to cover, I'd check on the Royals. If they were on TV, I'd have the game on.

And then, tonight, the Royals completed an improbable sweep of the Baltimore Orioles, earning a trip to the World Series. It's been quite a ride for the Royals, making the postseason as a wild-card, beating Oakland in extra innings in a play-in game, sweeping the Angels in three and then Baltimore in four.
I'm psyched for them. And honestly, I don't care if it's San Francisco or St. Louis in the World Series. Either way, it will be a fun, exciting, entertaining and, if history holds, extra-inning filled series.

Go Royals!