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Last night an entire city, an entire fanbase, stretching from New York City to Alaska, from Spain to South Korea, watched with bated breath. The Royals were in the post-season, which would be ordinary for any other fanbase, but was remarkable for the Royals Kingdom. And even more remarkable, rather than exiting with an anti-climactic thud like we've been so used to before, something magical happened.
I still can't quite fathom or comprehend what happened last night. But I know I felt the full range of emotions - nervousness, disgust, fear, shock, excitement, anger, confusion, hopelessness, anxiousness, and finally, pure unadulterated joy. I watched from the stands at Kauffman Stadium, and just a few innings into the game I had already made a few new friends around me. I also knew that watching the game somewhere in the stadium were old friends of mine that I know had suffered the last 29 years with me. I also knew that new friends I had just met, thanks to the Royals Review tailgate, were enjoying the game after years of confused, depressed, and downright angry comments through the lean years. Best of all, I knew sitting next to me was my father, who had taken me to two decades worth of baseball games over the years, all of them ending in frustration. Yet we always came back.
Perhaps the best part, THE BEST PART about that miraculous comeback, was knowing that an entire city, an entire FANBASE, were with me, crying tears of joy, yelling at the top of their lungs in joy, embracing like long-lost friends. I was part of the same family as Sung Woo Lee, the best Royals fan in the entire country of South Korea. I was part of the same family as legendary Royals scout Art Stewart, who helped built this great franchise, only to see them spend 29 years in the wilderness. I was part of the same family as Craig Brown, who gave me a chance to write at Royals Review. I was part of the same family as Tim Grimes, the courageous Royals fan battling cancer. I was part of the same family as Rany Jazayerli and Joe Posnanski, two of the men who have put what I have felt about the Royals in words much more eloquently than I could ever imagine.
I was part of the same family as Scott McKinney, critical as he can be, but one of the most loyal fans you could ever imagine. I was part of the same family as cmkeller, kcemigre, slayor, Gross(est), billybeingbilly, nepg, BradTX, Warden11, Farmhand, Quisenberry4ever, Sweep_the_Leg, KSinDC, thelaundry, Crooow, averagegatsby, all the Kevins, and all the commenters, too many to list that make this Royals community the best community in the entire internets.
How did you watch the Royals game last night? How did you deal with the highs and lows?