About 6,000 fans Thursday made one more trip to Kauffman Stadium, just to celebrate the 2014 Kansas City Royals.
It was cloudy and threatening rain as fans filed into Kauffman Stadium. Almost on cue, the sun came out when the celebration started.
Fans chanted “Thank you, Royals,” with the familiar cadence. Many were smiling. It was festive. There were little kids dressed as baseball players, cheerleaders, and Sluggerrr, the Royals’ mascot.
Most were smiling, but Mike Arnott stood with eyes puffy from crying.
“I wouldn’t have missed this for the world,” said Arnott, tears streaming down his face. “It’s just a final touch to say, ‘Thank you, Royals. Thank you for giving us something that we needed.’”
It was a two-way love fest. Royals’ outfielder Nori Aoki overcame his scant English to give just as good as he got.
“You the best! Thank you so much!,” he exclaimed, moving toward the crowd with the microphone.
Manager Ned Yost was a little more subdued.
“Nobody wanted to get out of bed today. I know I didn’t want to get out of bed today,” said Yost. “But the reason we got out of bed was to thank you guys.”
Just about everyone at this morning’s celebration seemed to file out feeling great, and looking ahead to a World Series victory next year.