It’s been a fun year. Well, a year plus a couple of days. The Royals’ reign as defending champions is over. However, their reign as 2015 champions will last forever, which is nice.
I’m grateful for the fact we got a seven-game World Series. Admittedly, it’s less stressful and more enjoyable when your team isn’t participating, but there’s something special about a Game Seven. I think it’s because baseball, more so than the other sports, is played daily. That means your garden-variety baseball game is a somewhat relaxed affair. In football, every game of the 16-game schedule feels like life or death. Basketball and hockey, with 82 games, are a little better about this, but when you know there’s a game tomorrow and the day after that and the day after that, there’s less urgency. There’s time for conversation and joking around and such—you’ll never see a football player put a wad of bubble gum on his teammate’s helmet.
But then Game Seven arrives. There’s no tomorrow. There’s no levity. There is only do or do not, there is no try. That juxtaposition between relaxation and sudden, overwhelming tension is what makes a baseball Game Seven so special. There’s truly nothing like it in sports. Every fan should get to experience it; as I found out in 2014, even being on the losing end is somewhat of an honor. Battling to the very last pitch of the season is something to be proud of. I would never think less of the 2014 Royals for coming up one run short, and I think most would agree.
So, if there are any Indians fans reading this, you have nothing to feel bad about. That might not erase the sting, but I think eventually you’ll feel better. Your team had a great season and earned its AL Central and American League titles. And you can take heart in the example of the 2015 Royals, who rode that frustration over losing the previous World Series to a title of their own. Your team is talented enough to do it, and the Royals-Indians-Tigers battle for division supremacy next year looks to be special.
On the flip side, if there are any Cubs fans reading this, congratulations. Your team is certainly a worthy heir to the Royals’ crown. I know what a 30-year title drought felt like, but I can only imagine the relief you feel after ending one more than three times as long. Like so many Royals fans last year (not me, I’m old), you are enjoying your first Series title. It probably doesn’t feel real yet; it didn’t for me for a long time. We’re all different, so I can’t say exactly when it will hit you. But it will.
I know there’s a thought out there that people will get sick of the Cubs, because they look like title contenders for years to come. It’s worth remembering that there are no guarantees, though. This year’s Royals team showed how injuries and unexpectedly poor performances can sidetrack a promising season. But I don’t want to rain on the parade. Cubs fans, your team is young and insanely talented and yes, you should be back here at some point in the next few years. But make sure you cherish this team and this moment, just in case.
Now we enter the offseason. It’s a sad time. We were gifted a tremendous World Series with plenty of implications for baseball history, capped off by an insane final game that is going to be on the list of classics forever. But we just have to get through three months or so before it all starts up again, and we can begin dreaming about the Royals being in a deciding Game Seven again. Relinquishing the crown isn’t easy, but next year is a chance to reclaim it.