The Kansas City Royals are hosting the Chicago Cubs for a three-game series this week and the fan turnout has been all Cubs. It’s no secret that Cubs fans travel well, but this could be revenge from the 2015 season.
It’s hard to believe it, but three years ago the Kansas City Royals were the talk of the town, and in a good way! They were the best team in the American League that year and went on to win the World Series.
As a result of the Royals’ winning ways, a lot of fans came along for the ride. Some were diehards from the really bad years, others were newcomers (or bandwagoners, as they’re sometimes referred to as). What can I say? People like good sports teams.
With the Royals being so good, fans were even willing to travel to AWAY games in 2015. The most enticing road trip was to Chicago, where the Royals would partake in a three-game series against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field.
Wrigley Field is the coolest stadium in all of baseball so for the winning Royals to be playing there made it an absolute must on most fans’ bucket lists. Had it not been for a game getting rained out, I would not have gotten to make the trip to Chicago for this series. Fortunately, that postponed game was pushed back all the way into September and I was able to make the trip with my parents.
It became evident within an hour of getting to Chicago that Royals fans were showing up in masses for this one. Not only were they playing the Cubs that Monday night, but their next series was against the White Sox! What luck, right?
Anyway, when arriving to Wrigley Field for that Monday night game, it was about 70/30 when comparing Royals fans to Cubs fans. I couldn’t believe it! I had been to games at Wrigley before (when the Cubs were atrocious) and their fans showed up big, even through the rough times. Now here they were, one of the most prestigious franchises, in a winning season, being drowned out by Royals fans chanting “Let’s Go Royals!”.
Before the game, I was in the bathroom and a woman in Cubs gear, seeing she was the only such one in the vicinity, asked, “Okay, are all of you actually FROM Kansas City?” To which I replied, “I am. Can’t speak for anyone else.” They themselves seemed shocked at the turnout of Royals fans.
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Cubs fans weren’t rude by any means. In fact, I really like Cubs fans and was rooting for their team to do well that year and in 2016 when they won the World Series.
In 2018, however, those fans that sat and watched as Royals fans drowned them out in their home stadium are now returning the favor in Kansas City. Monday’s game sounded like it was in Chicago in the friendly confines of Wrigley Field. Crazy how quickly things change, huh?
It’s hard to be mad at the Cubs fans who are attending games at Kauffman Stadium this week. For one, their team is good, so they should be excited. They won the World Series one year after our beloved Royals did, so their championship is even newer than KC’s (and it took a lot longer to obtain).
Second, Royals fans really can’t complain about the atmosphere if they’re not doing anything about it. If you don’t like the K being filled with the opposing team’s fans, then the least you can do is go to the game. Or if you’re REALLY upset, buy all of the tickets so they can’t go. (Sarcasm)
Lastly, of all fanbases, Royals fans should be very used to this. For YEARS, Kauffman Stadium served as the “second home” for a lot of the bigger market teams. Yankees, Red Sox, and Cardinals fans filled the stands at the K for such a long time that it felt like second nature. It was weird when that stopped being a common thing honestly.
It sucks that the Kansas City Royals are as bad as they are this year, but Cubs fans have every right to show up to the K and cheer for their team. Maybe some of them remember Royals fans doing the same thing at Wrigley three years ago and want to stick it to Kansas City.
More than likely though, they’re just big Cubs fans and want to root for their team. Tickets are probably cheaper at the K than they are at Wrigley too, so there’s another reason to make the trip to Kansas City. Not to mention Kansas City is super cool, which they now know.
Even though that 2015 season feels like a lifetime ago, hearing a LOUD “Let’s Go Royals!” chant at Wrigley Field might be one of the cooler baseball moments I’ve experienced. This year’s team isn’t any good, but hopefully in a few years, the product on the field will be good again and Royals fans will splurge on road game tickets and do Royals chants in opposing venues, just like they did at Wrigley in 2015.