March 28, 2024

Witnessing a miracle

Even as I write this, it doesn’t seem like a real thing. The Kansas City Royals — my hometown team, the Boys in Blue, a team other Major League Baseball teams have used as its farm system — are not only in the playoffs, they’re kicking butt.

Seriously, I can’t believe this is happening. The Royals last made the playoffs in 1985 —  I wasn’t born until 1987. I’ve never experienced seeing this team win in my lifetime until this year.

As a child of the ‘90s — the greatest decade of all time —  I grew up watching Disney movies. Some of the best Disney movies of that era were about sports. For me, watching the Royals not only be in the playoffs but thrive in them is like the entire “Mighty Ducks” Trilogy, “Angels in the Outfield” and other non-Disney ‘90s sports movies about lovable losers turned winners rolled into one.

This is something all my fellow ‘90s kids will get. Imagine watching The Icebox from “Little Giants” leading the Flying  V from the “Mighty Ducks,” while being flanked by Henry from “Rookie of the Year” and the Ducks coach, Gordon Bombay, was in charge.

That’s awesome imagery  right? Well, that’s real life for me now as I’m seeing the Royals pull off these miraculous extra inning wins night after night. Well, technically, I’m not seeing this. I’m a very superstitious sports fan, and I believe I am cursed at the moment.

The last three Chiefs games I watched they lost, and the two I didn’t see they won. And when I watched part of the Royals’ game on Friday, the O’s came back after being down  4-1 to tie it at 5. I immediately left the restaurant I was watching the game at and didn’t know we secured the win until my sister texted me and said, “It’s crazy that the Royals are two games away from the World Series.”

Make no mistake about it, this is crazy! It was almost a decade before I was born that the Royals biggest rival was the New York Yankees — the sports richest and most despised team. I never had that sense of rivalry with any team really growing up as a Royals fan, because simply put —  they all beat us all the time.

I hate the St. Louis Cardinals — their fans are still mad about the ‘85 World Series, and I’ve grown to dislike the Detroit Tigers since they’ve been the perennial  golden boys of the American League’s Central division.

Other than that, I haven’t felt any big sense of rivalry with the Royals’ opponents. With the Chiefs, we have Raiders’ Week, the Broncos are known as the Donkeys and I want to punch Chargers’ quarterback Philip Rivers in the face. No team the Royals play bring out those primal instincts and emotions out of me.

Growing up, the Royals games were always just a fun outing and a chance to see your favorite players from both teams. I got to dance with Slugger, the team’s mascot, on top of the dugout, see one of my childhood hero’s Ken Griffey Jr. roam the K’s massive center field and in recent years I’ve even taken my godson to a game.

And win or lose, we always had post-game fireworks. I used to watch them with my friends and family from my Grandpa Rushing’s front porch as they illuminated the sky over Vineyard Boulevard.

Having a winning baseball team is a surreal feeling for us Royals fans across the country, and I can only imagine the atmosphere back home. One of my best friends, O, sent me a picture of a new drink called “Royal Blue Long Island,” and the hashtags of “BeRoyal” and “TakeBacktheCrown” have dominated my social media feeds.

Not being home for this miraculous run of great baseball in KC hurts a bit —  especially after knowing nothing but failure as a fan with a few spurts of “that was almost a good season” thrown in for good measure.

I’m proud this run has united a city and its current and past residents, including one of my writing idols and former KC Star Columnist, Joe Posnanski. Watching the Royals at the K will always be enjoyable to me, but Joe said it best, “Baseball is like pizza. When it’s bad, it’s good. When it’s good, it’s like a gift from the gods.”

Contact Senior Staff Writer Ty Rushing at (641) 792-3121 Ext. 6532 or trushing@newtondailynews.com