How I Became a Royals Fan

I can't imagine that there are too many people outside of KC that actually root for the KC Royals, but I am one of them. The Royals have been around for a long time and I have never given them a second thought as a legitimate MLB team, I have even called them MLB's 4A farm system for how they developed players and let let other teams take them away (i.e. Damon, Beltran, Dye).

I believe that times in KC have changed now. They appear to be committed to building a competitive team. Outbidding or overpaying depending on who you are talking to for Meche and Guillen is essential to bring in some sort of established talent to KC. I would consider them to be low to mid level free-agents. Bringing in these two players will make it easier for the Royals to sign even higher profile FAs in the future.

In combination with opening up the pocketbook a little bit, KC is developing young talent. For the most part, it is hard to tell who is going to pan out as a MLB superstar or not. Give Gordon and Butler some time to pan out. If we look at Boston has put together it's winning teams with a combo of free-agents and farm system guys, it is a system that works. An even better example is the Rays. There team is deep and so is there farm system. They are in a position to add a player or two for a World Series run. Given time, that could be the Royals!

Last but not least, KC has good, true fans. I cannot speak for the fans that attend the games at Kauffman, bucause I have never been there (I do plan on going, I hear that it is a beautiful stadium), but the fans on this board are passionate about there team and at the same time respectful about others. I know that I am going to leave some people out of this but I am talking about KidDude123, Mbonsignore1, ShoeShineBoy, and Kanzass to name a few.

I am not the #1 KC fan, but a fan nonetheless. Stay loyal go Royal! (<--I did not come up with that someone has posted that before on the Boards and I would love to give them credit for it, but I can't remember for the life of me who did it.)

Hubie Since: Nov 24, 2006	Posted on: July 15, 2008 6:45 pm How I Became a Royals Fan Hmmm - when did I become a Royals fan? Lessee, I was 11 years old - 1969, and a casual Cardinals fan. I really like the Giants back then, with Mays, McCovey, Marichal, etc. We could sometimes get their games on the radio, must have been a pirate radio station. I'm just a kid, living in Wichita, KS at the time, and a little league monster. Then I hear that KC is getting a team again. I don't remember a lot about the A's, but I'm thinking - cool! A team I can call my own. First game I listened to on the radio - Bud Blattner and Denny Matthews doing color. 1969. I fell in love with Ellie Rodriguez, Gail Hopkins, and the amazing Lou Pinella. A year later, Cookie Rojas became my favorite player, since I was a 2B. Then I moved to SS and the Royals traded for a 5 foot nothing SS from the Pirates named Freddie Patek. My new favorite player! Steve Busby came along, and man, was he the bomb! Splitt and Dennis Leonard, George Brett and Hal McRae. This team looked good, and they were still uniquely mine. Bud Blattner moved on, Denny took the lead mike, and from 1975 until 1985, my summers were spent never missing a game on the Royals Radio Network. Denny, Fred, and producer-engineer Ed Shepard kept me company from April until October. I was there when we lost to the Yankees and Chris Chambliss in '76, blowing the series in '77, and Patek's pain when he was spiked by Reggie Jackson in '78. I remember finally beating the Yanks in '80 and not giving a damn if we even won one game in the WS. I remember Jim Sundberg's triple off the wall to beat the Jays in '85. The amazing WS the same year, when we were robbed in game 4, then got repaid in game 6. I remember Darryl Motley's HR in game 7, Tudor losing his finger in a fan, and Andujar and Whitey's meltdown. Then there was Bo. But that was about it. George winning the batting title in 1990, and kissing home plate in 1994. The OF of Dye, Damon, and Beltran. The dark years. I don't get to listen to Denny anymore, but I miss those summers. I'm not a kid anymore, but man, oh man, I'm still a fan. [ Reply to Comment ]
tomahawk attack Since: Nov 2, 2006	Posted on: July 11, 2008 4:40 am How I Became a Royals Fan HEY GO PACK8, that was pretty stupid,and by the way the Orioles, have no shot of winning anything soon either. if the friggin Rays are leading your divison?and you still have Boston, New York,and Toronto to deal with.it's gonna be a while before you can talk smack about anyone! let's make a bet. my Royals will be in the playoffs before your crappy Orioles. -Loyal Royal -A.P. [ Reply to Comment ]
tomahawk attack Since: Nov 2, 2006	Posted on: July 11, 2008 4:22 am How I Became a Royals Fan im 34 years old ,and have attending Royals games since i was 2 years old.my mother got me into the game .she would always be listening on the radio.we didnt get to many t.v.games back then.the first time i remember stepping in the Royals stadium and saw the guys that my mother always talked about,Brett,Otis,White,McRae,Wilson ect. i was forever hooked! i take my childeren to the games now, and hope that they will grow up loving this team as much as i do. Be patient Royals fan's, this thing is turning around.we will contend again!!! ; &nbs p; GO ROYALS!!!!!!!! [ Reply to Comment ]
cffighter86 Since: May 25, 2008	Posted on: July 10, 2008 2:01 am How I Became a Royals Fan Awesome blog bro! Glad to hear that there are some baseball fans out there that actually pay attention to the whole league and not just their individual team. [ Reply to Comment ]
kanzass Since: Mar 14, 2008	Posted on: July 9, 2008 4:19 pm How I Became a Royals Fan Stay loyal go Royal I think NavyFreak came up with that... great blog sorry it took me so to check it out.. vacation, sick kid, life, erttt....... anyway... Is it just me or do Royals fans have to be slightly sadistic to really appereciate the the team? J.K. but you have got to love the direction the team is going.. now if we could bring it all together next year and make a run... I hate the White Sox.. down with the brown oh that's right they wear black and white.. kinda fitting though... Love, BARTMAN [ Reply to Comment ]
Bastyd Since: May 14, 2008	Posted on: July 8, 2008 6:44 pm How I Became a Royals Fan Wow, I thought this was about the Royals! How did it end up being a Cubs rant. The Cubs suck! You know come late August, they are going to flop and the Brewers or Cardinals will take over. Love, BARTMAN [ Reply to Comment ]
KidDude123 Since: Apr 4, 2008	Posted on: July 6, 2008 6:25 pm How I Became a Royals Fan Azzurri, Yes! I got my name in a blog!!!!!!!!!! Thank you! Nice entry, by the way. I've got to give Dayton Moore a lot of credit. When he took over in 2006, he was handed a turd. Our starting pitching was dead last in major league baseball, our bullpen was every bit as bad, our hitting was at the bottom of the league and to add insult to injury we weren't very good at catching the ball either. We had no scouting going on in the Latin American countries and we had made countless high draft picks that didn't pan out. In two short years we now have 3 starters that are better than any starter we ran to the bump in 2006. Where we used to have the tandem of McDougal or Burgos as closers we now have a legitimate all-star at the back end of our pen and we probably also have 4 everyday players who are either ready now or just about to bloom into all-star candidate players. We may have to suffer another 4th or 5th place finish this year, and we may also miss the playoffs next season, but this team is just around the corner from making some noise. Congratulations on your first place Cubs. It would be nice to see them in the fall classic. I think they're due. And congratulations to you. Your first blog entry is a dandy. [ Reply to Comment ]
Lazer_Wright Since: Jun 26, 2008	Posted on: July 6, 2008 4:42 pm How I Became a Royals Fan Very good blog Azzurri, For also being a Cubs fan, your knowledge of the Royals is pretty impressive. For two different stints in my life I lived out of the Kansas City coverage area however I was able to watch Cubs games on WGN during the glory days of Ryne Sandberg, Bobby Dernier and Andre Dawson. They weren't all that good but they were some good guys and good players, and damn were they fun to watch. Again, thanks for the good read. Keep up the good work. [ Reply to Comment ]
Azzurri17 Since: May 6, 2008	Posted on: July 6, 2008 9:36 am How I Became a Royals Fan Thanks for reading the blog and thanks for the comments guys. It is hard being a (Cardiac) Cubs fan. Everything is so dramatic with them. As for Wood, I think that he will be fine. I am more concerned about Marmol and his control. [ Reply to Comment ]
gonzagafan62 Since: Feb 19, 2008	Posted on: July 6, 2008 4:05 am How I Became a Royals Fan Great blog Az! [ Reply to Comment ]

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