The Royals are in the post season for the first time since I was a sophomore in high school. One of my regrets in life, a lasting one I guess since it's almost thirty years and it still bothers me, I missed the parade. Everyone left school except me and about five other nerds whose parents said they couldn't go to the parade downtown. Everyone else piled into friends' cars and went for it.
There were teachers in most of the classrooms, though they didn't seem to know what to do with us since there was nothing like a quorum and I'm sure they'd all have rather been asses and elbows with the rest of the city downtown.
My two teams are the Royals and the Pirates. I don't know why the Pirates, never been to Pittsburgh, but I guess I should have a National League team to root for to the extent that I root for anyone in baseball. Sports allegiances are religious in nature (probably idolatrous if you're Christian and want to get right down to it). I didn't choose to be a Pirates fan, the Pirates chose me. Royals, too, I guess, by accident of geography. The A's they beat in the Wild Card round, I have almost as much geographic reason to pull for them and after reading 'Moneyball' I even have an intellectually valid reason to pull for the A's. But nope, it's the Royals for me at least in the AL.
This October miracle, when batters who average .218 hit game winning home runs in the umpteenth inning and guys built more or less like me steal second, well, it's got the whole town excited. Even my wife, who is if it's possible less of a baseball fan than me, she's excited. And they have dyed the fountains blue to celebrate (apparently at team expense according to an article I read).
To top that off, Westport Flea Market Bar & Grill is selling their burgers at 1985 prices until the Royals are no longer in the playoffs. I said I'm a Royals/Pirates fan: it's been an exercise for me to learn names like McCutchen, Moustakas, Hosmer. For the longest time, there was no point in remembering a name like Carlos Beltran because he was only going to end up playing for the Cards. I've been safe remembering Clemente, Brett, Saberhagen, Frank White. I'm unaccustomed to knowing the names of players who aren't eligible for Social Security.
Which means that burger I had for dinner tonight, normally about ten bucks, since it's priced for the last time the Royals were in the post season, it was like $3.81 with tax. If they priced their burgers like that all the time (and priced their beers accordingly), I'd move in there, be their full time tenant.
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