Build a winner at Kauffman Stadium and Royals fans will come

The Kansas City Royals have a dedicated but long-suffering fan base. The club has had four 100-loss seasons since 2002 — and won more games than it lost just two years in that span.

That’s the basic reason Kauffman Stadium hasn’t been packed with people for a long time.

But Royal-mania is upon us in 2014. As of today, the team is in first place in the Central Division, with a chance to advance to the postseason for the first time since the Royals won the World Series in 1985.

So where are the fans?

Manager Ned Yost took some deserved heat earlier this week when he not-so-adroitly implied that more people should be showing up to shell out for parking, tickets, beer and souvenirs.

Yost said he wasn’t insulting fans, just wishing they could be in the seats at Kauffman to enjoy the team’s recent victories.

Still, Royals fans these days are no different from those in the past. Generally, they will show up for winners. And the current squad hasn’t won anything, yet, of lasting value. No playoff spot, no division title, no league crown and certainly no World Series rings.

The club still has the opportunity to accomplish all of those goals, and that’s a welcome change for fans. They are ready to relive the team’s glory days of winning seasons in the late 1970s and the 1980s.

If those days do return to Kauffman Stadium, the fans will likely follow.

This story was originally published August 28, 2014 at 5:08 PM with the headline "Build a winner at Kauffman Stadium and Royals fans will come."