The 2014 interviews: Chris Kamler

Maybe I was born with it. Maybe it way Maybeline.  I was simply a Royals fan from the start. Born with blue blood. It was only later that I found it was a terminal illness instead of being born into a true Monarchy. Kind of like living in England.

One of my earliest photos as a baby was wearing a Royals hat. My dad took me to games before I could walk. My cousin and I grew up at the stadium running up and down the spirals. I cried when Chris Chambliss hit the homer and cheered when George Brett hit .390 in 1980.  I was at both Game 7's of World Series.

It sucked. I was angry. I was mean. I had a fatalistic sensation about everything. And we weren't even adorable like the Cubs. We were just stupid losers who were stupid.  2004 almost killed me. It was like getting a date with the hottest girl and she turns out to have a hatchet in her trunk.  It was awful. It was worse than awful.

But that's the price of love, I guess. Isn't it? The outcome is never the important thing. It's the day in, day out moments that make you want to come back and love some more - or strangle Rex Hudler. Whatever. Love is strange.

What did the AL pennant and World Series appearance mean to you?

It sucked way less. I think the thing I remember most, however, was the impending sense of dread. I didn't really enjoy it as much as I should have. 29 years will do that to a person. You're constantly looking up at the sky waiting for the other shoe to make its way onto your head like a Monty Python sketch. Down the stretch waiting for them to fade like Nervous Ned did in Milwaukee. So during the sixth inning of the Wild Card game, you are almost relieved when you're like, "welp, that's it then." And then the m'effers come back and make it one of the greatest games you've ever seen. And then the 8-0 streak happened and then you get right to the bring and Salvy pops out. THAT is true persecution, my friend. I didn't enjoy any of it. I bought into the Chessmaster. I bought into things flaming out in the most epic way. I guess if I had it to do over again, I would've drank a LOT more instead of chugged metamucil by the gallon. But dammit, what a ride.

You had a unique viewpoint as a key member of the Sung Woo welcoming committee--what did you learn about the fanbase from that experience? Were you surprised by anything?

I was surprised by all of it. It changed my life. Here I was, a miserable, crotchety (albeit handsome) faux Twitter celebrity who thrived on snark and the worst parts of things. And here comes this guy. This very special guy. The truest iteration of the word "Fan" And he just melts your heart. And my heart. And the city's heart. And the city hugged him right back. That's what I think was most shocking - how the city reacted. The most "community" thing I've ever felt in my life. People would come up to us on the street and be super polite and just want to tell him "thanks for coming to Kansas City. Thanks for picking our little corner of the world to grace." It was beyond special. It was beyond inspiring. Just this fan. Picked the Royals nearly out of a hat. And I got to see all of that up close. The world became a lot less terrible that week. Royals fans are just an amazing group. Royals Twitter even moreso.

Which player did you enjoy watching most on the 2014 AL Champion Kansas City Royals?

Billy. It's always been Billy. It'll always be Billy. He basically got benched the last month of the season. He pouted. He fought with Ned. He hit like shit all year. But he just had to flash that smile and steal that base. How can you not enjoy that? You've got to be just black inside with Facebook fury to not just love that moment. Billy, man. He's KC as they come.

Do you think the Royals can sustain this energy going into 2015?