September 30, 2016, a good day to talk Kansas City Royals baseball. The 2016 season is essentially done, so let’s remember this run. The run that
started on this date two years ago. The date that overshadowed all the memories
that I had of the Royals growing up.
Being born in
1995 meant that I knew nothing of the glory days besides the stories told
by my grandpa. The Royals I knew were mediocre, comical, sad, and “let’s just
not lose 100.” The idea that they were a powerhouse in the 70’s and 80’s was a
fairy tale, a farce. No way that the team that caused a young boy to cry when
they traded Carlos Beltran (the first time they made me cry not the last) could
ever have been good. I suffered through Jimmy Gobble, Ken Harvey. I suffered
through the farfetched ideas that Gil Meche and Jose Guillen were going to be
our saviors. The Royals just will not be good and I accepted that. I still
cling to Mark Teahen as my favorite player (ya I know don’t judge me) sucking
just was the norm, and you move on with it. Then came 2013 and the winning
season, the season where I accepted moral victories as a real thing. The season
that showed there can be something other than “ungood.”
The 2014 season is a blur at this point,
but the one game that will never be forgotten is the one that gave us millennials
a story. Finally, a proud story instead of the comedies that we were used to
telling. The night where a man that was paid to throw a baseball to the plate could
not throw to first. The night where Rusty wanted to “run like hell.” The night
where “That’s What Speed Do” was born. Christian Colon became the unlikeliest of
legends, and the Royals then again caused me to cry. The story did not end
there like we all know. Losing in 2014 and then finally making me shed the
happiest tears of my life in 2015. All stories that I can tell now, and get
goosebumps while doing so. All these of stories started two years ago today.
