KC Royals: Ten Greatest Moments In Royals History
By John Viril
Put that W up, Woo! Put that W up! http://t.co/mnz0gk6DZu
— MLB GIFS (@MLBGIFs) August 12, 2014
HONORABLE MENTION – SUNG WOO PUTS UP THE “W” AFTER THE ROYALS TAKE FIRST PLACE
How can a celebration that didn’t even take place during a game be one of my ten greatest moments in Royals history?
It’s all about the context.
On August 11, 2014, the Kansas City Royals stood in first place as late as August for the first time in 11 years. But the moment was as much about the guy putting up the “W” as it was about the team.
By now, every KC Royals fan that hasn’t spent the last five months on Pluto knows Sung Woo Lee’s story.
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He’s the South Korean fan that fell in love with the Royals watching armed forces television in 1995 while trying to work on his English. By 2014, Sung Woo had become such a Twitter institution on the #Royals hashtag that when he finally came to Kansas City, Royals diehards pulled out the stops to make his stay a memorable one.
The local media picked up the story, and Sung Woo Mania took over Kansas City in the middle of August.
The Royals won seven straight games after Sung Woo showed up, wiping out Detroit’s 4.5 game lead to take first place.
That moment meant far more than the Central Division lead.
When Sung Woo went nuts after hanging the “W”, that’s when I knew the Royals weren’t losers anymore. For the first time in 29 years.
The fact that it was Sung Woo, and his visit coincided with a crazy run to the top of the Central Division, couldn’t help but make Royals fans feel like fate was on our side.
Up until Sung Woo’s arrival, I had been nursing a sort of wry hope that the KC Royals could stay in the post-season hunt. When Sung Woo started jabbing the air with what you knew was completely genuine abandon, I starting thinking about winning the World Series.
I no longer had mere hope. I believed.
The prior 29 years had made me forget what that felt like.
Thanks Sung Woo.
Next: June 5, 1989