Is Kansas City a baseball or football town?

[DJ's left nut]

Originally Posted by Bowser

The problem is, the Royals were SO bad for SO long that the town just wholeheartedly embraced the Chiefs to escape the suck of the Royals. The fact that the Chiefs were actually really competitive and won a few AFC West titles along the way didn't hurt, either.

Growing up I knew the town as a baseball town, but I think Keg hit it - we just support winners. Look no further than Sporting KC and the mad support they get.

I lived in KC from '81 to 2000, but I was born there so counting the 80s probably isn't all that useful.

So yeah, it may just be because of when I grew up that it's always seemed a football town. But like I said, I think the reaction to the lean years is telling. Chiefs fans flew banners and put 30K guys in the stands wearing black. Fans who were fed up with only about 5 years of abject suck made national headlines in Kansas City.

The was certainly never the case with the Royals. The passion just wasn't there and it was never there in the 90s, even as they were descending from their peaks of the 80s. The fans skipped right over outrage and when to apathy. Hell, it didn't even take that long. By the 90s when I was in school, I can name the 3 big Royals fans in my class of 300 people. Nobody gave a shit just a few years after the Royals were fielding HOFers.

Most towns, when you get down to it, are largely bandwagon towns. But some really do have an identity and to me, KC can make that claim. The 'loudest stadium in the NFL'. The incredible tailgate scene. Red Friday even when they're bad. The fact that the best Royals conversation online is almost certainly on a Chiefs football board - it all points to a conclusion that Kansas City is a football town. Sure, they'll back a winning baseball team, but it's still a football town.