Morning Brew: A tough time for sports fans in Kansas City
By Rustin Dodd (Contact)
Thursday, September 11th, 2008
Kansas City really is a wonderful little city. There’s something beautiful about little midwestern towns with world-class barbecue and fountains and those massive shuttlecocks out side of the the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art. Maybe you have to be from Kansas City to understand. Maybe outsiders don’t understand why we think the Plaza is so elegant, or why we love it when the trains bring the food at Fritz’s. Maybe they don’t understand Royals’ buck nights, or Stroud’s fried chicken, or the pride we felt when Neil Smith or Derrick Thomas sacked John Elway.
But who cares. Because we do.
And if you understand all that, then you’ll know why the next two months are going to so tough for us Kansas Citians. The Royals are in the midst of their 13th losing season in the last 14 years. The Chiefs haven’t won a playoff game since 1993, and our new state-of-the-art Sprint Center sits empty, save for a college basketball game and a Springsteen concert here and there.
So what do we do? Nothing. We pretend it doesn’t hurt when we see all these out-of-state students wearing their Cardinals, Cubs and White Sox jerseys around campus. We pretend it doesn’t hurt when the bandwagon fans from Chicago talk about the Cubs playing the White Sox in the World Series. We pretend it doesn’t hurt when the kids from St. Louis brag about the Cardinals 2006 World Series title. We pretend it doesn’t hurt when they sneer at our Royals, laugh at our Chiefs and think Kansas City is no better than Omaha.
They don’t get it. They probably never will.
As for me, I’m going to go walk around the Plaza, order a skyscraper from Winstead’s and pray to Buck O’Neil. Pray that the Cardinals lose every game. Pray that the Cubs fold. Pray that the White Sox choke. And if that doesn’t work, I’m heading straight to the Grand Falloon.
THURSDAY YOUTUBE SESH
So you’re really from Kansas City? Ever heard of the Heet Mob? They’re KC finest MC’s, and they created the greatest rap anthem in Kansas City history. Just type “Heet Mob” and “KC” into YouTube. Enjoy.
Darnell’s Day
Darnell Jackson did it again.
Just when the vibes around the Kansas basketball program were reaching a record-low, Jackson reminded Kansas fans why Kansas basketball is so special. Jackson, who graduated last spring, signed a multi-year professional contract with the Cleveland Cavaliers last week. Jackson overcame a lot during his four years in Lawrence. Family tragedy, injuries, an NCAA suspension. It seemed like the bad news would never stop. But Jackson was always the consummate Jayhawk. He worked hard, he graduated and he was a gentleman. Congrats Darnell. Kansas’ young team could learn a lot from you.
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