There are many sides to being a sports fan.  Often the best way I can describe the experience is like riding a bicycle.  It is a lot of fun, sometimes even an exhilarating rush, but sooner or later you are going to fall off that bike, and man does it hurt.  It hurts until you get back on the  bike the next time and enjoy the next ride.   It has been a few days since the last out of the World Series enough time has passed to get over the disappointment I had when the World Series finally ended.  Although I imagine I will still see, Madison Baumgarner in my sleep till at least Christmas.

By now, everyone who lives above ground is aware that, before this fall, the Royals hadn’t been to the postseason since 1985, when they won the World Series in seven games.  A lost generation of baseball fans, had to endure watching their once proud franchise become the deserving punch line of jokes.   If nothing else month of October restored pride in becoming a fan of the Royals once again.

And share the pride we did.   One thing I always missed as a sports fan was being able to connect with the people I cheered for. Back in 1985, you turned off the game after it was over and that was that. You would watch the highlights on the news, read the newspapers, and talk about it the next day at work.   In 2014 the community created by Social Media, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram allowed an immediate  outlet to  fans who wanted to share the excitement not only with each other, but even with the players.  From fans to players, everyone was posting pictures and videos of the excitement–a much different atmosphere than it was 29 years ago.

“Thanks to Social Media not only can sports fans now interact with each other on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook, but with their favorite athletes.  Everyone was busy posting photos allowing anyone who wanted to do so to share in the happy times.  You could share in the accomplishments, you can be in the locker room with them.  You couldn’t do that in 1985.

Social media gives Royals players a genuine and immediate way to connect with their fan base like never before.  People talked as much about pictures and stories posted on Facebook, by the players as they did about the game itself.

“We got to know the team members and found out they’re regular guys outside of what they do in baseball.  It’s nice being able to reach out, ask them a question, and in a lot of cases, get answered.

Like the time when rookie relief pitcher Brandon Finnegan responded to a tweet and gave one broke fan tickets to a playoff game. Or when Eric Hosmer tweeted out an invite for all Royals fans to party with the team at a local nightclub, then he and his teammates picked up the tab.

So it’s really cool that there’s a medium for them to go out and say, ‘Hey I’m going to be there, let’s all go have a great time and celebrate what’s really special for Kansas City.

If you are like me it will be hard to let go of the feelings of the past several months.  So if you want you can keep up with what  is going on with the Royals during the offseason you will have the opportunity. There are any number of Facebook Pages and websites dedicated to the Royals, and  here are some of their Twitter Handles.

https://twitter.com/Royals
https://twitter.com/TheRealHos35     (Eric Hosmer)
https://twitter.com/BillyButlerKC       (Billy Butler)
https://twitter.com/SalvadorPerez15  (Salvy Perez)
https://twitter.com/Gio2bKC
https://twitter.com/bfinny29                (Brandon Finnegan)
https://twitter.com/mrzoombiya          (Jarod Dyson)

Oh, and one final thing, don’t forget Opening Day is the 5th of April against the Chicago White Sox.  Its going to be fun it will be Yordano Ventura pitching, and all the memories will come back when we will raise the American League Championship pennant.  We will see Gordon, Perez, and Hosmer awarded Gold Gloves, Greg Holland will receive his award for being the best reliever in baseball, and it is likely Ned Yost will win at least 1 manager of the year award.  Till then keep in touch.