Kansas City takes the crown, on the playing field and off it, too

One of the famous phrases attributed to Satchel Paige, the great Kansas City baseball player, was this: “Don’t look back. Something might be gaining on you.”

This bit of wisdom applies to the Royals in two ways. In the 2015 postseason the Royals gained on and then overcame every opponent they faced.

And coming home with the World Series trophy means the Royals — and their fans — don’t have to look back with longing and regret at 2014 or 1985 or all the fallow years in between.

When the Royals — once again in astounding fashion — came back and defeated the New York Mets Sunday night, 7-2 in 12 innings, they won the 2015 World Series four games to one.

But the team did much, much more than that during this endlessly exciting season.

Throughout the spring, summer and fall, the Royals helped bring this community together.

Fans from both sides of the state line, from Kansas City and all its suburbs, packed Kauffman Stadium.

Kansas City area residents wore the color blue not just at the ballpark but at shopping centers, supermarkets, on the Country Country Plaza, all around the town.

In the world of sports, the Royals became known for their aggressive hitting style in 2015. They slugged fastballs better than most other teams. And they were relentless, pulling out many comebacks during the year but, most notably, in the postseason, where they set a record for most runs scored (51) in the seventh inning or later.

This community has had that same kind of come-from-behind attitude in recent years, which explains a lot about the revival of Kansas City.

It took an aggressive effort to get projects off the ground after so many lackluster years of neglect in the urban core.

It took relentless leadership by political officials — as well as by voters who embraced opportunities to create a better city.

The naysayers who said a decade ago that it wasn’t a good idea to build Sprint Center downtown? Wrong. The highly successful arena on Grand Boulevard will mark the starting point of the World Series victory parade on Tuesday, and the route will feature an up-and-coming downtown.

The doubters who predicted the Power & Light District would be a wasteland of inactivity? Also wrong. Fans packed the entertainment space shoulder-to-shoulder Sunday night and partied on long after the Royals became world champions.

The negative nannies on the streetcar and nearby redevelopment? So far, off base. The city, coincidentally, took possession of the first vehicle on Monday.

Much like the Royals — who wandered in baseball’s netherworld for so many years, losing more than 100 games four times in five years starting in 2002 — Kansas City has staged a comeback of its own.

There’s more: This Royals team is so good and so young, and has been to two straight World Series, we could see Kansas City back on baseball’s biggest postseason stage for years to come.

But for now, in early November, for the first time in 30 years, this metropolitan area will bask in the attention that comes with a World Series crown.

And we will wear it proudly.

This story was originally published November 1, 2015 at 11:34 PM with the headline "Kansas City takes the crown, on the playing field and off it, too."