The Royal Treatment: New Worst Enemy
The Royal Treatment serves to chronicle my experience as a 2008 Royals Season Ticket Holder.
Every fan needs an enemy. That team that makes your blood boil. The foe that you want to beat more than any other foe. At the beginning of the season I did not have such a team. But now I do.
One of the tough things about being a Royals fan is that you get beat up by everyone. So it's not as though there is just one team you really want to beat, but can't seem to overcome. No. With the Royals, that list includes most teams.
Some people consider the Cardinals to be our most heated rival. Perhaps. But since they are in the NL, I don't think they should get that status. The Yankees or BoSox? A lot of people do hate them. And their stupid fake fans. Those posers who have never been to Fenway or lived anywhere East of the Mississippi, but still show up at games when Boston is in town and flood The K with their white-on-white wannabe fan/gangter hats. Makes me want to heave. But those teams are in the AL East. Not our division.
That leaves us Cleveland, The Twins and The White Sox. I choose...White Sox. And not flippantly. No. Because they make me sethe. I didn't fully realize it until they visited town last week and I sat in the stands wanting the Royals to win so badly that I almost got a stomach ache. And when they came back at the end of the game to pull it out, it was suuuuuuuuch a great feeling.
Not that I haven't had my moments in life as a White Sox supporter. Back in middle school I adopted them as my favorite team. I had a total fan crush on Frank Thomas, because he could absolutely mash. The Sox were good at that point, and they also had street cred. See, I went so far as to buy a White Sox hat in the 8th grade because I saw Dr. Dre wearing them all the time. Hardcore, fool. I thought I was one bad mofo with that hat on. Unfortunately, I was just an ignorant kid.
I'm so ashamed that I chose to associate myself with such ilk. Especially considering how White Sox fans behave. Back in 2002 they rolled out that good old South Side hospitality by jumping a Royals base coach in the middle of a game. A father and a son, no less. It's nice to see such activities are viewed as family bonding in Chitown. And before you start hollering about an isolated incident, let's not forget that the next year (with the Royals in town again), a fan emerged from the stands to attack an ump. Classy.
Not all Sox Fans are that irrational. But they are all somewhat irrational.
Earlier this year I was accompanied to a Royals game by a Twins fan and a White Sox fan. The Royals were playing Detroit, who was favored to win the division. And yet, this particular fan had the audacity to use my ticket, sit in my seat and cheer on the Tigers. I tried to explain to her that it was in her team's best interest that the Royals absolutely pound the Tigers so that it would be easier for her team to win the division. She would have none of it. Apparently, truth and reason don't resonate with the White Sox fan.
Today the Royals begin a series with the Sox in Chicago. The same Sox who have hit numerous Royals batters this season. The same Sox who have a loudmouth catcher that talks trash the whole game. The same Sox who are my least favorite team in all of MLB.
And if the Royals don't both beat and bean those Sox, I'm going to be really bummed.
Fair Dinkum
Every fan needs an enemy. That team that makes your blood boil. The foe that you want to beat more than any other foe. At the beginning of the season I did not have such a team. But now I do.
One of the tough things about being a Royals fan is that you get beat up by everyone. So it's not as though there is just one team you really want to beat, but can't seem to overcome. No. With the Royals, that list includes most teams.
Some people consider the Cardinals to be our most heated rival. Perhaps. But since they are in the NL, I don't think they should get that status. The Yankees or BoSox? A lot of people do hate them. And their stupid fake fans. Those posers who have never been to Fenway or lived anywhere East of the Mississippi, but still show up at games when Boston is in town and flood The K with their white-on-white wannabe fan/gangter hats. Makes me want to heave. But those teams are in the AL East. Not our division.
That leaves us Cleveland, The Twins and The White Sox. I choose...White Sox. And not flippantly. No. Because they make me sethe. I didn't fully realize it until they visited town last week and I sat in the stands wanting the Royals to win so badly that I almost got a stomach ache. And when they came back at the end of the game to pull it out, it was suuuuuuuuch a great feeling.
Not that I haven't had my moments in life as a White Sox supporter. Back in middle school I adopted them as my favorite team. I had a total fan crush on Frank Thomas, because he could absolutely mash. The Sox were good at that point, and they also had street cred. See, I went so far as to buy a White Sox hat in the 8th grade because I saw Dr. Dre wearing them all the time. Hardcore, fool. I thought I was one bad mofo with that hat on. Unfortunately, I was just an ignorant kid.
I'm so ashamed that I chose to associate myself with such ilk. Especially considering how White Sox fans behave. Back in 2002 they rolled out that good old South Side hospitality by jumping a Royals base coach in the middle of a game. A father and a son, no less. It's nice to see such activities are viewed as family bonding in Chitown. And before you start hollering about an isolated incident, let's not forget that the next year (with the Royals in town again), a fan emerged from the stands to attack an ump. Classy.
Not all Sox Fans are that irrational. But they are all somewhat irrational.
Earlier this year I was accompanied to a Royals game by a Twins fan and a White Sox fan. The Royals were playing Detroit, who was favored to win the division. And yet, this particular fan had the audacity to use my ticket, sit in my seat and cheer on the Tigers. I tried to explain to her that it was in her team's best interest that the Royals absolutely pound the Tigers so that it would be easier for her team to win the division. She would have none of it. Apparently, truth and reason don't resonate with the White Sox fan.
Today the Royals begin a series with the Sox in Chicago. The same Sox who have hit numerous Royals batters this season. The same Sox who have a loudmouth catcher that talks trash the whole game. The same Sox who are my least favorite team in all of MLB.
And if the Royals don't both beat and bean those Sox, I'm going to be really bummed.
Fair Dinkum