Where is Everybody?

For those of you at the game tonight, this post really doesn’t pertain to you, but please feel free to read anyways!

For everyone else I have a question, “Where were you tonight?”

So when the game ended tonight, I had an idea for a post that was going to be something along the lines of “Yost be Damned, the Royals Win Anyway.” And I was going to point out two huge mistakes Yost made that could have cost us the win. But then I listened to Ned’s post game conference, and he pointed out something, in a snarky way that may have made a lot of fans (and media) miss his point. He was talking about how hard this team is working, how well they have been playing, and that fans are still not showing up to games. He went on to say he understood the long absence of playoffs, and the game was on TV and the internet, but there was something missing in the stadium tonight….the electricity that is usually felt when a team is at home and on a roll. And begrudgingly I had to agree with him.

The announced attendance for tonight’s game (August 26th, 2014) was 13,847.

13K and change, for a team that is coming off a road trip where they managed to maintain their position on top of the division in the A.L. Central. A team that this city has been in some shape or form; begging, praying, whining, asking, or pleading for….A Contender. NO, better than that, a Winner.

Oh and by the way, the entire Nation had access to this game as it was nationally broadcast on Fox Sports 1.

Yet the best we can do to show off our fandom for the boys in blue is 13,000 fans.

I am really confused. Where are all these people that have been buzzing about buying their playoff tickets? Where are all these people I see flying Royals flags at their homes, and wearing these jersey’s all over town?

When I moved back earlier this month, I was literally excited about two things, (not including friends and family of course) and they were The Royals and being back for deer season. I thought for sure when I went to the K tonight it would be filled with people just as excited as I was….WRONGO!

Listen I get it. There was other stuff going on. It was a school night. It was hot out. I had to post a picture of my dog on Instagram. I had to dump water on my head and show all of Facebook. College is just starting up. I have to work tomorrow. I went the other day. I am waiting for the giveaway later this week. It is expensive. I have been let down by these guys before. I am waiting for September when the games really matter. I get it.

You know what….on second thought, I don’t get it.

What MLB city doesn’t have those exact same excuses (minus the team being crappy for so long)? NONE OF THEM….but guess what, with the exception of the White Sox vs. Indians game in Chicago, no team had fewer people attend their game than the Royals did tonight. That is truly EMBARRASING!

Let’s run through some of the other Cities that have similar situations, geography, or rivalries with the Royals and see how they stack up.

The team that to me is the closest to the Royals in every way is the Pirates. Both teams reside in blue collar cities, both had their best seasons in 10 years in 2013, and both are currently in playoff contention. Tonight the Pirates hosted the Cardinals (yes I will get to them in a minute) and the announced attendance was 25,521. Almost double the Royals. The Royals actually have a better record than the Pirates, and a longer playoff drought, yet they were doubled up by the bucos.

What about the team breathing down the neck of the Royals, the Detroit Tigers. Tonight the Tigers host the Yankees (and I understand they draw well….hell they even got nearly 32,000 people to the K) and had an announced attendance of 40,488. So Triple what we had.

OK let’s go with a team that has been really bad for a while now, the Houston Astros. No team has lost more games over the last 3 seasons than the Astros. Tonight they hosted the Oakland Athletics. Not exactly the most natural of rivalries but a division game. The worst team in the MLB over the last 3 years produced 17,345 fans for their game. I know what you are all saying, there is literally nothing to do in Houston, and with the roof closed it may have been the coolest place in town. But so what, this team is again at the bottom of the A.L. and still is out drawing one of the top teams.

Here are some other teams I see similarities to our club and their attendance: Padres vs. Brewers in San Diego, 21,786. D Back vs. Dodgers in AZ, 21,758. And Reds vs. Cubs in Cincy, 19,481. Each of these towns have teams out of the pennant race, and yet still have significantly larger crowds, for less significant games.

So let’s address some of those excuses, especially the latter few.

For those saying it is too expensive, that is a valid argument. Many people are not able to afford the price of admission and parking, let alone a 5 dollar hot dog. By no means am I saying forgo meals or school clothes for the next week to support a baseball team. Because that is not the point I am trying to make. However, take it from me, I have been to a lot of different ballparks around the country. We have some amazing deals at the K. For instance, tonight for first row fountain seats on Stub Hub there were tickets for $13 apiece. That is cheaper than a movie! And you can even bring your own food into Kauffman. Even if you walked up and wanted to buy a ticket from the window, it was only $14. And still, every other park in the country had more people show up.

For those going tomorrow because they are giving away some cheap a$$ cups with 4 leaf clovers on them. You have to be kidding me that you would be drawn to the stadium for cups. Not even my hording Irish family is in that big of a need for “irish” cups.

And for those whining about being hurt to many times, or we’ve seen this before….actually you really haven’t. This is the best team the Royals have had since the Strike (Back when the Royals and Expos were poised for the World Series). And that was 20 years ago. This is relatively new territory. So unless you are holding on to something from two decades ago, you are full of $hit. You are just using a cop-out buzz phrase that you saw on some hipster Royals page you follow. So get your tight rolled jeans and smedium 1972 Royals Pennant T-shirt out to the K, and lose some nacho cheese in that beard of yours.

This is our time (I love the Goonies!). Looking at some key financials for next season, it may very well be our only time in the near future. So GO SEE SOME GAMES! Support this team. Go Scream at Belly Butler to hit it into the fountains. Go eat 3 lbs of BBQ Nachos out of a Royals Helmet. Let’s create a home field advantage. Heck this could be the last chance you get to see this team unless you are a CEO of some corporation that can afford Playoff tickets (and if you are please feel free to invite me to those games with you). Quit proving those A$$holes in St. Louis right, that they actually do have some of the best fans in baseball. Do I need to point out that the ROYALS are currently the best team in this state!!! Take back Missouri for the Royals! And let me get back to hating on Ned Yost, and his botching of our team!!!!!!

photo credit: Ashtropy via photopin cc

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