Major League Baseball

Miserable? Not us: Thanks to Royals, KC is 'Loserville' no more

Published Oct. 20, 2014 6:01 p.m. ET

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KANSAS CITY, Mo. — You have The Catch.

We have Lin Elliott.

You have Jeremy Affeldt, ERA: 2.76.

We have Jeremy Affeldt, ERA: 4.77.

You have Joe vs. Steve, and it worked out.

We have Elvis vs. Rich, and it didn't.

You have Bill Walsh.

We have Gunther Cunningham.

Since 1986, the San Francisco Giants have appeared in nine postseasons and, as of Tuesday, five World Series.

The Kansas City Royals have appeared in one and, um, one. And it's this one, right now.

So beyond all the other matchups peppering the 2014 Fall Classic — Bruce Bochy vs. Ned Yost, Anchor Steam vs. Boulevard, Fisherman's Wharf vs. The Plaza — there's this: A culture of expectations for silverware (Them) vs. a culture of expectations for horrible sporting atrocities committed against a city and its fans (Us). Over the last 20 years, a generation, the Giants have 13 winning seasons under their belts. The Royals have three.

You have Kung Fu Panda.

We have Ken Harvey.

The two major professional sports franchises in Kansas City had played 98 combined seasons and come away with two titles to show for it. Two. Perspective: The Giants have two World Series championships, all by themselves, in the last five years.

More perspective: Forbes.com has recently kept an annual list of America's "Most Miserable Sports Cities," as determined by criteria such as a metro's all-time record in championship rounds or series (here, so-so), all-time record in semis (not good), the ratio of professional championships to seasons (facepalm), and year of last title celebrated (double facepalm).

Kansas City is, as you might expect, a perennial in this particular club: Our fair burg checked in at No. 8 in 2014, down from No. 7 in 2013 and up from No. 9 in 2012 and down from No. 7 in 2011. But it's always the same crowd at the party — Cleveland, Atlanta, Houston, Cincinnati, Kansas City. Seattle used to hang with us, too, until the Legion of Boom got them off the hook and back onto the podium.

Watch the Boulevard Royals Live postgame show on FOX Sports Kansas City after every Kansas City Royals postseason game.

It's a hard label to shake, a harder stench to shed. Among the cities with at least two franchises in the Big Four leagues of North American sport — the NFL, MLB, NBA and NHL — Kansas City's 28-year championship drought ranks fourth on the list, bettered (worsened?) only by Milwaukee (43 years), Cleveland (50) and San Diego (51). Although the latter saw its Padres reach a World Series as recently as 1998 and its Chargers crash the Super Bowl after the '94 season.

And, hey, at least San Diego has playoff victories to pair up with its beaches and fish tacos: From 1986-2013, the Padres won eight postseason contests; the Chargers, seven. Kansas City's Royals and Chiefs won zero and three, respectively, over that same stretch.

You have Colin Kaepernick, and you're (mostly) fine with that.

We have Alex Smith, and we're (mostly) fine with that, too.

So the 2014 Series begins Tuesday night (on FOX, 7 p.m. CT)  in the Paris of the Plains, the first Fall Classic to hit the shores of western Missouri since the Iran-Contra affair. The Royals match their pitching and defense and depth and grit and chutzpah and wild-card mojo against the Giants' pitching and defense and depth and grit and chutzpah and wild-card mojo. The whole shebang is old school to the champagne-soaked bone, a baseball purist's tussle if there ever was one, a grinder's paradise.

But in a civic sense, this is even bigger than that. The Royals were the last KC team to lift a Big Four trophy, and that was 29 years ago. The Chiefs have made the postseason a dozen times since 1985, but to go back to their last Super Bowl — let alone Super Bowl win — you're flipping the calendar pages all the way to January 1970. Kansas City's NFL cadre are beloved to the point of obsession, yet also carry the baggage of an eight-game postseason losing streak that tends to start the sporting year here on the wrong foot on an almost-annual basis. The Chiefs' epic playoff crashes have become a part of the city's fabric, like smooth jazz and great barbecue.

You have Joe Montana, age 25.

We have Joe Montana, age 38. Although still pretty damn clutch. And still the last quarterback to pilot a playoff victory here.

Epic moments have been snatched and treasured, sure, but they're not shared ones. Kansas' Jayhawks won the 1988 NCAA men's basketball crown here at Kemper Arena, then another in 2008 down in San Antonio. Kansas City, long home to the NCAA's headquarters, maintains its street cred as a rabid collegiate sports base, with loyalties extending to KU, Mizzou, Kansas State, UMKC, Wichita State, Nebraska, Iowa State, Iowa, Missouri State and any number of small schools scattered across the area. But it's a passion marked by its proud, loyal divisions, lines drawn by color and state.

The pro sports, though, the pro sports unite us. Sporting KC of Major League Soccer held aloft the 2013 championship and has, in a short time, become the sports affection of choice for many of Kansas City's millennials — most of whom grew up never knowing what it was like to see the Chiefs win a playoff game or the Royals just win, period.

Funny how these things run in cycles, like comets. You just have to wait around long enough for the sky to see the light again.

You're there.

We're due.

You can follow Sean Keeler on Twitter at @SeanKeeler or email him at seanmkeeler@gmail.com.

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