I could get used to this. It’s been said the only thing harder than winning a championship is repeating, and for the first time in my sporting life, I’m gaining a greater understanding of the concept. Sure, the Kansas City Royals have repeated before; they won three straight division titles from 1976-78, sorta went back-to-back in 1980-81 (the latter being a strike-shortened season and the first-ever year for the Division Series. Baseball trivia buffs already know this, and now everyone does). Then the Royals won consecutive division titles in 1984-85. But this is different. Back-to-back trips to the World Series is just hard to wrap my brain around. This is much sweeter. Last year Kansas City went on a roll unlikely to be seen again, winning eight straight games to get to the Series. I had no illusions about this year’s run; they weren’t going to go unbeaten to get to the Series again. It’s been a great run in a completely different way than last season, and it’s been a lot of fun to watch. Friday night’s Game 6 had a must-win feel to it. I don’t think any of the Royals faithful, myself included, wanted any part of a seventh game. To beat Toronto after Lorenzo Cain scored from first on a single with nobody out in the eighth. Then a 45-minute rain delay, Wade Davis doing what hardly any pitcher does; come back into the game after waiting out the rain and the dramatic bottom of the eighth inning. After pitching himself into trouble, Davis got the last two outs with the tying run at third and the go-ahead run at second in the ninth. It was almost too much to take. I think I understand now how people have serious health issues while watching sports. I’m stocking up on green tea, melatonin and other non-age restricted relaxants in preparation for one last thrilling week of baseball. A side note to the Cubs fans out there; I mean no ill will here. I have no problems with the Cubs winning a world championship; I just don’t want it at the expense of the Royals or Cardinals. I had no issue with the Cubs beating the Cardinals; I predicted it in this space a couple of weeks ago or so. So this year wouldn’t have necessarily met the criteria, in my mind, of “at the Cardinals’ expense.” Going in, the Cubs were the hotter team. Eventually, baseball archeologists will dig around and figure out how St. Louis won 100 games. I know I still can’t figure it out, and neither can professional baseball media members who saw the team every day. Over the last couple of weeks I was asked how I’d handle a Royals/Cubs series socially; I have a lot of friends here who have pulled for the Cubs as long as I have for the Royals, proportionally speaking (a lot of them are younger than I, so “lifetime” will have to suffice.) Those friends would have been cool with everything, and long term it wouldn’t have been an issue. I like to think the Bears/Colts Super Bowl didn’t terminate any relationships around here, and the end result would have been likewise in the World Series. Lastly, Dale Hubler, my esteemed sports editor who celebrates 17 years at the Times-Union this week, made a wager with me on the outcome of the playoffs. If the Cubs had won it all, I’d have worn a Cubs World Champions pin to every sporting event I covered for the remainder of the 2015-16 season. If neither the Royals nor the Cubs won, it’d have been a push. There’s a Royals pin sitting on my boss’ desk, even as you read, ready to be seen at dozens of sporting events across the area. Should Kansas City win, well, I’m going to take all the verification I can get that he’s maintaining his end of the deal. If the Royals win, folks should start sending the photos to my Twitter account @tusports_howe or to my Instagram account at tusportshowe. I’ll post the photos on my blog as well. Let the Series begin!
