What 29 years feels like

Published Sep. 26, 2014 11:15 p.m. ET

foxsports

What does 29 years feel like?

There's not a single good answer for that one. After all, time is a flat circle.

For someone born after 1980, the last 29 years might seem like an eternity. After all, anyone born after 1980 has literally zero real memory of the Royals playing for marbles in October. But for someone born in (say) 1966, these last 29 years can seem both an eternity and an eyeblink. After all, I remember September of 1984 vividly. I remember September and October of 1985 even more vividly. So while 29 years might seem like a long time, once you've experienced something, you may reasonably assume you'll experience it again. Which is perhaps why the Royals' first postseason berth since '85 seems far less surprising than inevitable to me.

But we do like to quantify these things, and here's something terribly quantifiable: Before Friday night, the Royals owned the longest active postseason-free streak in major American sports. Which I wouldn't wish on the fans of any major American sports team.

Or, as it happens, fans of the major Canadian sports team that now wears the thorny crown.

Anyway, it's a funny thing ... I watched the Royals enjoy their first clinching celebration since Game 7 of the 1985 World Series ... and just a few minutes later, I started fantasizing about a Monday playoff in Detroit for the A.L. Central crown. You know, the one without any thorns.

Enjoy the moment? Sure. Go ahead......

Okay. The moment's over. Now keep winning. Twenty-nine years is a long time without a championship, too.