Royals fans balance expectations and reality of rebuilding team

It’s no secret that the Kansas City Royals haven’t had too hot of a season this year. And their fans recognize it.

Walking through the concourses, you can hear chatter about various topics. What concession food they should eat, something about jerseys and maybe a couple of remarks about this season.

For one person, they even started selling their Royals gear on eBay. Another yelled, “At least the tickets are cheaper.”

But other fans aren’t as angry. The ones that have been with the Royals for longer periods of time are sad more than anything. Or, better said by Alana Lewis, heartbroken.

Lewis has been a Royals fan for 10 years. And right now, she’s not really too happy.

“After we went to the World Series, we started losing our players to different teams and it was heartbreaking, because the guys were so good together,” Lewis said. “To see them split up, it almost made me cry. We lost our last one, (third baseman Mike) Moustakas, a few weeks ago; now it’s a brand-new team.“

Justin Ricky, a diehard Royals fan since 1987, couldn’t be more reminiscent of what the Royals used to be back in the day. With its eerie similarities of past decades, Ricky can’t help but think it is history repeating itself.

More specifically, he sees this season closely resembling the 1990s and the 2000s.

“I haven’t been following it as closely this year. We’ve lost almost every series this year. It feels a lot like the ‘90s and the 2000s,” Ricky said. “(The losses) pile up, but I think you understand it’s part of baseball. Teams just go up and down, but I don’t think anyone wanted to see it go down so quickly.”

Fans of all ages are able to express their frustration, even the young ones.

13-year-old Royals fan Christian Schmadeke was sad to see his favorite player, Moustakas, go in late July. Since Moustakas’ departure, Whit Merrifield has replaced his void.

But seeing the Royals lose still can be disappointing.

“I mean, they’re rebuilding, so I get it. I just wish they would do better,” Schmadeke said. “I wish Moose would’ve stayed, but I know it’s part of the game.”

A lot of people came into this season with some type of expectation. Whether they were high or just low from the start, there was something there for most Royals fans.

Even Shelly Redmond, who’s been a Royals fan for 35 years, came into this with her expectations a little stirred up.

“I came into this season, having and knowing these expectations that it might not be great,” Redmond said. “ Basically, almost every game is a sting. We come out looking for a win, so when we walk away with a loss, it really does sting. But it’s still good to come out as a family to here. I just hope they rebuild fast.”

Donna Rowland, who has been a fan for only the last five years, is “sad about the season, but I still love the Royals.”

But some of the losses that have come this year, all 79 of them, can hurt more than others.

For Lewis, any loss to the Yankees really stings. And, of course, the Cubs add a little salt to the wound.

“Whenever we lose to the Yankees and the Cubs, it really does sting,” Lewis said. “Especially when they’re kind of close and they let it slip. It really can hurt.”

And for Ricky, any loss isn’t great. But when the fans at Kauffman Stadium are loud, and they aren’t Royals, that hurts more than the loss.

“It’s not awesome to come here and hear the opposing folks yelling louder than the Royals fans or seeing more opposing team’s jerseys than Royals,” Ricky said.

This story was originally published August 8, 2018 at 9:38 PM.