Party Like It's 1985

In 1985 I was 28 years old.

That was the year the Kansas City Royals won their first World Series.

There was a ticker-tape parade downtown, featuring all of the Royals.  The city set out bags of shredded paper for everyone to throw at them as they passed.  Antique cars transported most of them on the route, but the star of the parade, George Brett, rode on a horse that was led by a trainer.  He was drunk as a skunk, holding onto the saddle horn with bleary eyes.

The crowds were enormous!  Soon, the paper was knee deep on the streets.  The cars were driving so slowly that the paper ignited underneath one of the vehicles, and both the driver and the player had to abandon it.  The fire truck had a hard time getting to the car due to all of the people, so the car ended up being a total loss.

I was working for The Kansas City Star at the time, and it was my job to try to sell papers commemorating the win on a street corner during the parade.  I showed up, but the papers never did.  Consequently, I ended up with a front row seat to it all. It was a city-wide party!

That was twenty-nine years ago.

Last night, the Royals won over the Angels, putting them in line for another World Series.  I hope they win. I'd love to see my kids have the same experience I did in 1985.