Konpai!

My first conscious sports memory was George Brett hitting a homer off Goose Gossage in the 1980 ALCS. For 4 of the previous 5 years, the ALCS had been the Kansas City Royals against the New York Yankees. Those damn Yankees won every time. Until George Brett, the greatest 3rd baseman of all time (and, no, don't bother arguing with me on that one), stepped up to the plate that fateful October night. I was 7. I knew it was a big moment. I knew the Royals winning was big. But it was my dad's reaction that really stuck with me, because he understood. He told me, "That was a man deciding his team was going to win and making it happen. Not many players can do that."

The Royals finally broke through the Yankees' chokehold that year and got to the World Series in 1980, though they never threatened to win the series that year. 5 years later, my Royals made the World Series again and they won it, as dramatically as anyone had ever won it. Prior to 1985, no team had ever come back from a 3-1 deficit in a 7-game series, but the Royals did it twice. First against the Blue Jays in the ALCS and then against the Cardinals. And the Don Denkinger out call in game 6 of the WS wasn't that big a deal, folks. It would only have been the first out of the inning. We still only needed 1 run to tie that game. And the Cardinals didn't have to fall apart so spectacularly in game 7 anyway. I've always believed 1985 was destined to be the Royals' year and it would have happened no matter what.

But then the very next year, our beloved manager was diagnosed with a brain tumor. And all hell broke lose. The team started losing. George Brett and Frank White retired. The devoted and beloved owners died. For 29 long years, the Royals were mired in misery. Losing year after losing year. 100 loss year after 100 loss year. We became the laughing stock of MLB. A punchline in "Pitch Fever." The team other team's fans don't bother to show up for. We sort of contended in 1994 until a strike ended that season. We definitely contended in 2003 until August. Then last year, we finally ended with a winning record, but still we ended on game 162. Every year, for 29 damn years, we ended on game 162, the last game of the regular season. Every other team in every professional sports league in the US has had at least one playoff appearance in those 29 years. Except for the lovably hapless Kansas City Royals.

It's been a rough 29 years to be a Royals fan.

Until this year. Until tonight. Until we beat the Chicago White Sox 3-1, thus clinching a playoff spot, even if it's only in the WildCard game.

In 2014, the Kansas City Royals will play a game 163. And it feels amazing.

Let's go, Royals.