Last night the Royals won the World Series. I like to keep saying that to make sure it’s real. The trophy is just landing in Kansas City and I have some thoughts as a lifelong Royals fan:

–I literally never thought this would happen. Like in the back of my head, I always knew the Royals couldn’t stay as bad as they used to be, but I never thought this would happen. Things used to be so bad that before last season the best Royals team I had ever seen was a 2003 team that finished in 3rd in the AL Central. Things were so bad I envied Cubs fans and other fans that experienced playoff heartbreak because I just wanted to be included. I didn’t even have high expectations, there were years I just wanted, meaningful games in August.

Now everything has changed. Last year the Royals won Kansas City’s first playoff game in any major sport in 20 years. After years of getting beaten down, these Royals changed everything. I spent years rooting for terrible teams, convincing myself Jimmy Gobble was good and going to an empty stadium, but this year made it all worth it.

–That being said, everything last year just felt awesome and as a fan, I was just happy to be there. After the James Shields trade, 2014 was always supposed to be the big year, but I didn’t know enough to expect a deep playoff run. I would have been happy with winning the Wild Card game. In my mind, that would have validated the process, made me happy and I would have taken it.

This year was different. You heard all the players talk about unfinished business and all that, and I believed every second of it. This was a season-long domination. In 2014, the Royals were not the best team in the American League, and it probably wasn’t necessarily close. But this season, the Royals spent all year leaving no doubt that they are the best team in the AL Central, then the American League, and finally Major League Baseball. They lead the Central basically wire-to-wire, had the best record in the American League most of the season, and made the Nation League Champion Mets look silly. As strange as it is to say, the Royals are the best team in baseball and I don’t think there is any argument.

–Last night after the game, I saw countless national people talking about the Royals players and it was strange. They were talking about Cain, Hosmer, Gordon, and all the others like they talked about players of good teams. In the past, the Royals only got mentioned when Joakim Soria was their token All-Star and when they had players like Carlos Beltran or Zack Greinke who were mostly counting down time until they were traded away or left as free agents. Now, people around the country (and thanks to the ALCS, internationally too) know the names of all the Royals. They are a team of household names.

–Once upon a time, I was excited when Mark Grudzielanek won a Gold Glove. Contrast that with this season, when the Royals had seven All-Stars, four Gold Glove finalists, and Lorenzo Cain is a likely a top five MVP finalist. This is such an amazing turn around from Ken Harvey being stuck in the tarp.

–Last night was a redemption story for so many members of the Royals organization. People used to laugh at Ned Yost; now if they want to laugh, they can laugh at Ned Yost, World Champion. Dayton’s Moore’s Process became a running joke; now he has silenced all the haters. All these Royals have lived through some bad teams, but no one redeemed himself as much as Luke Hochevar. For years, he was an average starter who was thrust into an Opening Day role. He was stuck with the stigma of being the #1 pick in the draft, and he caused Royals fans to boo less than an inning into the 2012 home opener. He came back from being a bad starter, finding a role as a reliever, missing all of last season when the team actually became good. He came back from all that to throw 10 2/3 shutout innings in the playoffs and record the win in World Series clincher. I am obviously incredibly happy for everyone who experienced these bad Royals teams, but no one more than Luke Hochevar.

–Finally, Salvador Perez gets to go to the White House. He gets to take Instagram videos with annoyed Lorenzo Cain at the White House. He gets to take a selfie with President Obama at the White House. Everything about this team winning the World Series makes me giddy, but nothing more than the idea of Salvador Perez at the White House.