The most likeable fans in baseball? USA Today says it’s Royals fans

Although this season hasn’t gone as Royals fans would have liked, they are still showing their support.

Although attendance at Kauffman Stadium is a tick behind last year’s record level, the Royals are on base to draw 2.65 million fans this season. They’ve also become a bigger draw on the road. The Royals rank 19th in baseball in attendance at their road games. Last year, they were 30th in that category.

When you watch on TV, you see Royals blue at road games:

Heck, a “Let’s Go Royals” chant started at the White House when the Royals visited. That made fans a little weepy.

This is all leading up to say that a USA Today writer ranked the most likeable fans in baseball and the Royals’ faithful was No. 1.

Luke Kerr-Dineen cited the parade and wrote:

“It really is hard not to like a team from a relatively small market like Kansas City ... with a payroll that’s 14th in the league, yet still manages invoke such loyalty in its fans.”

No. 2 on the list? The Oakland A’s. And the 30th-ranked fan base? The other club from Missouri.

Kerr-Dineen previously ranked Chiefs fans No. 5 on a similar list of NFL teams.

This story was originally published July 29, 2016 at 9:03 AM.