tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8380308410292759132.post2519564854670322070..comments2023-06-23T03:32:06.058-05:00Comments on Royals Kingdom: Yankee "fans" will never be better than usBrian McGannonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11957956646610877454noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8380308410292759132.post-64301003763444996092010-08-19T13:44:42.943-05:002010-08-19T13:44:42.943-05:00Thanks for the shout out... I just noticed it!
A...Thanks for the shout out... I just noticed it! <br /><br />And, your, well thought out writing is exactly why our new colaborative Chiefs blog should be a success.<br /><br />I rant, I curse and I write as I speek... Many people hate me for it... Many love me for it... I've never seen anyone call you a dumb-ass. <br /><br />In my "Poser Yankees fans" post, I got ripped... And it's probably because I did a lot of ripping myself.<br /><br />http://oneroyalway.com/royals-blog/writers-broadcasters-personalities-websites/screw-you-poser-yankees-fans-in-kansas-cityOne Royal Way | Travishttp://oneroyalway.com/royals-blog/writers-broadcasters-personalities-websites/screw-you-poser-yankees-fans-in-kansas-citynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8380308410292759132.post-34719825936333422762010-08-17T14:46:03.233-05:002010-08-17T14:46:03.233-05:00Brilliant!
I've known a lot of Yankee fans. ...Brilliant!<br /><br />I've known a lot of Yankee fans. Most really are just lame-ass posers. It's the same for Laker fans or Cowboy fans. These people never bled when their teams failed. <br /><br />1985 was a summer of massive vindication. Following 10 years of almosts that were more good than bad it capped a decade of an awesome time to be a Royal fan. I remember my first year of watching baseball seriously was 1975 and the Royals competed with the A's to the wire and lost. In 1976 they got to the ALCS and this 9 year old broke into tears at the Chambliss HR. In 1977 I cried with Fred Patek. Yes, he sat in a dugout and I had on the floor of the house in front of the 25 inch Sylvania color screen, but it felt like we were in it together. In 1980 I felt the sting coming in game 3 having been through it so many times and then Brett saved it. In 1985 I was a veteran of SEVEN PLAYOFF RUNS IN 10 YEARS. I never knew how AMAZING this was... and when we won WE WON. It was KC's time over the top....<br /><br />As great as those years were for the Royals I was also a Chiefs fan. Summers and early autumns were joyous and ended in pain, but you always had next summer. It was good that I did have that because late fall and winter were misery. I gained a taste of what it was like to cheer for an absolutely inept franchise. By the late 70s and early 80s I learned that heartbreak was better than soul-crushing losing.... but I stayed with both... then fortunes shifted... The Royals stayed competitive, but the Chiefs became competitive. By 1989 both seemed within some reach. But the Chiefs seemed closer....<br /><br />I still cheered for both and now the Chiefs were giving heartbreaking losses. Dave Szott held (1990); Buffalo crushed us (1991); San Diego shut us down (1992); Buffalo crushed us again (1993); Lin FREAKING Elliott (1995); Elvis FREAKING Grbac (1997). But every year you stayed with it. I was now 30 years old and could look objectively, but I still had passion. Objectively I knew the Chiefs in those years weren't as close as the Royals had been in the late 70s, but just one-two plays could put us closer and you always got the feeling that something magical could happen.... <br /><br />Now the Royals were terrible and crushing us year after year. Since the 14 game winning streak in 1994 there has been no real hope. But still I go; still I cheer. After 2002 the Chiefs began their deepening slide into irrelevance and something worse than medicority. But I still watch and I still hope against all reason....<br /><br />And it really IS NOT COOL. It's hard; it's painful. But when you finally do get there - oh it's soooo amazingly good.<br /><br />I have a friend who complains about the ESPN-ization of sports. By this he means several things but one of them is that everything in sports has become about celebrity and about following winners... well, real fandom IS NOT ABOUT FOLLOWING WINNERS. It's being a Browns fan in the dog pound in 15 below weather at the end of a 6-10 season. It's about being in Kansas City at a day game in August with the Royals again at 48-70; it's 105 degrees and you're watching the kids play and hoping against reason that one of them will be the next George Brett....<br /><br />Some day I hope the kids learn this, but I fear they will not. My boy likes the Yankees. I think he sees my psychosis and wants none of it. I can't blame him as much as I do some... but I have failed.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com