July 5, 2013
We drove in after an adventurous night in Guthrie, Oklahoma, checked in to our hotel, and then ate some delicious Kansas City barbecue. From the hotel, it was a quick walk down to Kauffman Stadium. Upon entering, friendly voices welcomed us to “The K.”
Before the game, we walked around the amazing kids area and visited the team store, where a big decision to buy a bat instead of a pin began a new tradition. Then we climbed, and climbed, and climbed some more up to our seats way above home plate. A sea of blue painted the beautiful Missouri night. We didn’t expect a sell-out crowd to see these struggling Royals, but apparently Friday fireworks night brought out many. My fantasy pitcher Jarrod Parker shut down the Royals, but that didn’t stop the stadium from joining in on “Friend in Low Places” by Garth Brooks together. I’ll never forger my 37,000 fellow friends that night.
As the game went on, Adrian and I walked down to the majestic fountains as night drew dark. We sat for the end of the game, when the Royals rallied and thousands roared “Let’s go Royals.” The comeback came up short, but it was a fun finish. Now, it was time for fireworks. Adrian and I wanted to go back to our seats to watch from above with my mom, but all elevators and escalators were headed down. That left one unfortunate choice; the ramps. On we went up the never-ending circular ramps, my breath completely gone, but finally we made it back to our seats just as the show began. Together, we witnessed our first fireworks show on our road trips, and it was so worth the run up here. It marked the end of the first stadium in the Midwest, but it was only the beginning.