Field of Dreams
1,250 miles from Fenway
You waited for what seemed like an eternity until you had your first sexual experience but boy, wasn’t it a thrill? And then it was your first drink in a bar, your first marriage, the birth of your first grandchild. Yes, I’m sure it was very special. He’s an adorable kid and he’s got your nose. Congratulations, you old battle ax.
This though, this is big. This comes after 30 years of waiting, watching, wondering what it might be like.
I’m going to Kansas City. But more than that, I’m going to Kauffman Stadium, home of the Royals. A magical place of fountains and failures I’ve been dreaming about for three decades. So far away and wondrous is this strange place, I’m not entirely convinced yet that it’s real.
Two games, one at night, one in the afternoon. The first game, I’ll be on the first base side next to the dugout, a few feet away from the cogs that make up a machine I’ve been rallying behind, with little glory, since 1977.
To some, this will sound like only a simple trip to a ballpark. A few will appreciate the magnitude of it. This includes my oldest brother, a Yankee fan who responded to my initiation into Royal Nation by thrashing me soundly.
My wife who wears a Red Sox hat but knows the Royals lineup much better because she is forced to watch them five nights a week. No, really. Forced.
Randy Baril, the ardent Red Sox fan who is so perplexed by my long-suffering allegiance to the Royals, he no longer gives me grief when his team beats mine.
Randy Whitehouse, the gifted sportswriter, who is equally perplexed but more than happy to give me grief about all of my team’s shortcomings whenever the opportunity arises. Which is pretty much every day between April and October.
A few other Sox fan friends such as Sheila, who enjoys seeing a grown man cry.
I’m like an abused woman who adores her abusive spouse because she knows he really loves her. And someday, he’ll change. Really, he will.
Whatever. I’m going to Kansas City. And I know that bragging about the Royals is like bragging about a prized cow that hasn’t produced milk it a quarter century. Or about a hookup with a high-priced whore who doesn’t put out.
But I’m bragging anyway because a hook-up is a hook-up and brother, I’m overdue.
August 30th, 2008 at 8:34 pm
I’m ‘Goin to Kansas City, Kansas City here I come! Have a blast!
August 31st, 2008 at 2:55 am
Is that the double against Cleveland? Your guys are about tied against them so far. Good Luck, have fun. One of these days I’ll make it to Pittsburgh to see the Steelers play.
August 31st, 2008 at 11:13 am
Saturday and Sunday games. For a time, the Royals and Cleveland were battling fiercely over fourth place. It was like a World Series in the slums. Presently though, the Royals need a telescope to see fourth place from where they are.