Know Your Knight: Ryan DeSpain

Kansas City Royals relief pitcher Greg Holland (56) is congratulated by catcher Salvador Perez (13) Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports

KC Kingdom is expanding at a rapid pace, and our goal is to be the best Kansas City area sports site on the internet. Josh, Leigh, and John are pleased to announce we have added another new staff member, Ryan DeSpain, to our team.

Ryan will be helping in our effort to expand our Tigers, Royals, and maybe our Chiefs coverage. We are excited to have him writing for KC Kingdom.

Ryan DeSpain is off to a flying start, and has already published several things for us. In his first article, he delves into the Missouri Tigers hiring of Kim Anderson as the new men’s basketball coach, and in his second effort, Ryan questions if Ned Yost is the right man to lead the Kansas City Royals into the future.

Like all of the new writers to KC Kingdom, Ryan DeSpain took a few minutes to answer eight questions so we can get to know him just a little better. Here are his answers to those 8 questions:

How did you become a fan of the team you’re covering?
I was born and raised in Macon, MO. It is 60 miles north of Columbia. Needless to say, Mizzou sports is a birthright to most everyone in Macon. And ever since my junior year of high school, listening to Mike Kelly on the radio has been an enormous part of that.

Where did you grow up and where do you currently live?
I currently live in Prairie Village, KS.

What is your college/educational background?
Much like today’s professional athletes, I enjoyed my free agency years while I was in college during the 90s. After beginning my “career” at Southwest Missouri State in Springfield, I transferred to Mizzou. After spending a couple years in Columbia, I decided to return to where it all began in Springfield and finish my college career.

What do you do for a living?
I am currently a co-owner of a website called The Sporting Hub. We began the process of creating the website a couple years ago. The website is sports-themed. Our members participate in sports contests and I write occasional articles for the site.

Do you have a family?
I’ve been married to my wife, Megan, for four years. We have one child and he is the greatest yellow lab in the entire world. His name is Max.

What do you like to do for fun (sports related or otherwise)?
Megan and I are season ticket holders, so we enjoy going to the ballpark to catch Royals games as often as we can. I also enjoy writing, playing golf, playing softball, watching Pittsburgh Steelers games in the fall, collecting sports memorabilia, and watching pretty much any sport that happens to be on at the time.

What are your least favorite team(s) and why?
My least favorite teams include… Kansas Jayhawks (because they’re the Kansas Jayhawks), New York Yankees (because they’re the New York Yankees), Baltimore Ravens (because they used to be the Cleveland Browns and because of Ray Lewis), Dallas Cowboys (because they haven’t been relevant for almost 20 years and they still grab all the headlines) and the St. Louis Cardinals (simply because of their arrogant, entitled, condescending fans).

What is your favorite sports moment or memory?
Here is where think I need to be completely honest with you… Having grown up in Missouri and being a season ticket holder, I have a very strong bond with the Royals and I consider myself to be a Royals fan. And that’s why I enjoy writing about them. Having said that, since 1983, my true devotion has belonged to the Boston Red Sox and most of my favorite sports moments happened over an 11-day period in October of 2004.

Some of my favorite/most memorable non-Red Sox sports moments would have to be…
– Attending my first MLB All-Star game at Kauffman in 2012.
– Watching Sunday at The Masters in 1986 when Jack Nicklaus won at the age of 46.
– Attending the Cotton Bowl on New Year’s Day 2008 watching Mizzou beat Arkansas.
– Watching Anthony Peeler go for 43 points against KU in 1992.
– The I-70 World Series.

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