Wait for Tuesday’s parade to salute their heroes? Not these Royals fans

More than 500 fans were cheering at the tops of their voices as five buses carrying the World Series champion Kansas City Royals rolled to a stop Monday afternoon in front of Kauffman Stadium.

When manager Ned Yost stepped from the first bus about 4:20 p.m., the World Series trophy hoisted above his head, the roar of the crowd grew louder. The roar built as catcher Salvador Perez and other players came off the buses and, accompanied by their families, made their way through the throngs.

“Awesome! That was awesome!” said Alice Eckles, 56, of Belton, who had waited two hours for the team to arrive aftering flying in from New York, where on Sunday night the Royals defeated the New York Mets 7-2 to win the best-of-seven series four games to one.

A massive parade is scheduled to begin at noon Tuesdayoutside the Sprint Center. Schools throughout the city and beyond are taking a “snow day” so students can attend.

But for the fans at The K, two days were too long to welcome their heroes home.

Yost marched in front of the crowd, toward the last bus in line, then up the center aisle, dividing the crowd and entering the stadium, where the Royals captured the first two games of the series before winning two out of three in New York.

“It’s the Royals! It’s the Royals!” Cindy Bathgate, 56, offered as justification for her hourlong drive from her home in Garden City, Mo. She said she probably would return to Kansas City with her grandchildren on Tuesday for the parade.

City and team officials had stayed mum on details of the team’s flight to Kansas City International Airport, and they did their best to dissuade people from going to the stadium. Some fans either didn’t get the message or ignored it, deciding to come anyway. Some had been following their favorite players on social media and knew when they were arriving. Others came to Kauffman to buy World Series merchandise and stayed to greet the team.

Carol Knipp, 61, of Kansas City, arrived before 1 p.m.

“I don’t care,” she said about the prospect of waiting more than three hours. She wore a crown styled to resemble the World Series trophy.

“Oh, it’s just so exciting,” she said of a team that to her seems to exhibit such decency and character. “They love their fans,” she said, and she chose to be at Kauffman “to give some of it back.”

Brian Arnoldy, 38, and his children, Abbie, 10, and Carson, 12, arrived at 10:30 a.m., prepared for a long stay. They brought tailgating chairs, watermelon, cantaloupe and lunch for the kids.

In 1985, the Royals won the World Series on Oct. 27, the day Brian Arnoldy turned 8. Even before that day, he was a fan.

“It’s the best memory,” Arnoldy said of that birthday 30 years ago. Last Tuesday, he was in the stands when the Royals beat the Mets 5-4 in 14 innings to win Game 1.

Kansas Citian Sheldon Smith, 6, hoisted a “Forever Royal” sign as he waited with his mom, Sherita Smith, 35, and friend Renee Bruce, 44. Like others, they wore Royals T-shirts and seemed to keep constant tabs on the players, mostly through Salvador Perez’s Twitter feed.

On Friday, the Williams family of Lee’s Summit — Trish, 51, Manning, 51, and daughter, Emily, 14 — were in New York, where Trish ran in her third New York City Marathon. They also stopped by Flushing, Queens, lugging their bags soon after leaving the airport to visit Citi Field and walked around New York wearing their Royals gear.

Monday morning, soon after returning to Kansas City, they headed to Kauffman.

“I’ve worn this jersey for every game,” Emily said. She hadn’t washed it for nearly a month. It didn’t matter. She was willing to wait hours to see her team arrive.

“We’re staying,” she adamantly told her parents.

Lindsey Wilson, 32, of Independence, stood under the warm sun with daughter Raylee, 5, and son Hudson, 18 months, covered in his stroller.

“Came down to get a glimpse of our champs,” she said, turning to Raylee, who carried a baseball. “We’ve been bringing her to games since she was born.”

Wilson said she was too young to remember the Royal winning the World Series in 1985.

She said Raylee will always have this memory.

This story was originally published November 2, 2015 at 3:20 PM.