I guess I thought this October would be a quiet one, until a little sports team that hadn't really done well in 3 decades started winning. What some thought would be a flash in the pan ended up being one of the best seasons in recent memory for the game. Nope, not this season of Dragrace or America's Next Top Schmodel. We are talking BASEBALL, kids.
Typically this flaming homosexual heads for the proverbial pink and rainbow hills when it comes to dishin' out athletic talk, though I cannot deny my roots. You see, I am a born and raised St. Louisian. To some, this doesn't mean much. To sports fanatics, this means I originally hail from one of the American MECCAS of sports and that I must most certainly "bleed red". Doesn't everyone have crimson blood? Of course they do, but when you come from the city with the most World Series wins after the Yankees, you don't need much explaining to realize that you automatically become a St. Louis Cardinals fan at birth--bleeding Cardinal Red. That and you automatically become a Blues fan. And a Rams fan. And whatever other sports teams that I am apparently, blatantly ignorant about that call the Arch City home.
In a state like Missouri, you really only have two distinct options for a quality city. St. Louis, being the older of the two, and Kansas City--the newer, less east-coast version. Like Angelenos versus Big Applers, there is and has always been a distinct rivalry between these two cities: Which is bigger? Which has the best sports teams? Which has better history? Which is more modern? Which has the higher population count? These are all constant debates amongst Show-Me Staters, and the answers to these questions will never be agreed upon by both sides consecutively.
Maybe because each is 5 hours apart on opposite sides of the state. Maybe because each clings to its own identity while hugging the identities of the other two states at each's doorstep, respectively. Maybe the distance has caused such a divide that there really is no reconciliation. Either way, Missouri cannot survive without these two metropoli. The combined population of both of these two cities is equal to about half of the overall population of the entire state. Can either two really handle standing on their own without the support of the rest of Missouri?
I have never liked KC, MO. It has never been my cup of tea. Though I went to high school a mere hour and a half away from Kansas City, I would hands down choose the 3 hour drive from our house to St. Louis over heading west. I had family there. I had familiarity there. I have my roots there.
But, I've watched over the past few weeks as my facebook friends from back in the midwest are going
Missouri, as stated above, is a divided state. Divided in politics, divided by land, and divided by loyalty. We have seen in recent months how racial divides have plagued St. Louis and Missouri and have brought a dark cloud of negativity on the state. (As it should. Racial issues must be brought to light and Missouri is learning the hard way now that no states can continue to live in the dark ages of racial segregation, discrimination, and separation.) So seeing the amount of passion and enthusiasm for the Royals has been, honestly, kind of an annoyance for someone who "bleeds red", but also very heartwarming to see the unification it has brought to our state.
Most Missourians can agree that seeing either of our two incredible baseball teams "take the crown" would be a positive boost to our recession plagued state--economically, emotionally, and spiritually. Though I would prefer a re-hashing of the last World Series that the Royals played in--a Battle that involved the Cardinals vs the Royals, I think I too can agree that either of these teams winning the pennant would be a bonus to the Show-Me State.
We may just be another small Midwestern state- but Missouri is known for the amazing contributions of Maya Angelou, Mark Twain, Walt Disney, Joseph Pulitzer, Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Scott Joplin, George Washington Carver, Harry Truman, Laura Ingalls Wilder, Edwin Hubble, Josephine Baker, Dick Van Dyke, Eminem, Brad Pitt, Sheryl Crow, John Goodman, Daniel Boone, William Clark, blues, jazz, beef, and the mightiest two rivers on earth.
Soon, we will be known for yet another achievement: obtaining a win in the 2014 World Series. Whatever that means. Maybe we will bleed blue and be ROYALS after all...
