By CHRIS RASMUSSEN
The Dodgers know general admission. So why don't the Royals?
Something other than the Royals offense was missing during KC’s 4-1 loss to Baltimore. I sat in the “Outfield Reserve” seats, the area formerly known as Left Field General Admission. The crowd was passive to the point of indifference, and it added to the dull, non-descript nature of the game itself.
Then it hit me: for all the talk of the return of the powder blue uniforms, why not bring back General Admission?
I sat in General Admission for some of the more memorable regular season games in Royals history. I was there when Willie Wilson helped clinch the AL West crown in 1985 with a game-winning single. And I witnessed an 18-inning game that began with Nolan Ryan and Bret Saberhagen and ended with GA fans suffering from sunburn and the effects of alcohol withdrawal.
When the Royals were successful (and even when they were not), the people seated in General Admission were, after several adult beverages, as entertaining as the game itself. Were they drunk and rowdy? Yes. Did the area resemble the bar in Star Wars on occasion? Absolutely.
Han would've sat in general admission.
Nevertheless, there was a camaraderie that existed in GA that is noticeably absent from Royals crowds in recent seasons. Fans cared about the team, in part because they saw each other every day or amused each other with their antics.
Most of all, sitting in General Admission was fun, something sorely missing from the current Royals experience.
Chris Rasmussen, are you reading my mind? I have been to approximately four games since the abolition (extermination!) of GA a few years ago, and not just because being hospitalized to pass kidney stones was a more positive experience.
The problem is that they flat-out offended a lot of fans. They obviously had no idea what GA meant to many, many loyal Royals fans. Those people are now treated like royalty to cheer on a fake sport called Arena Football, while Johnson County soccer moms foist 2,000 calories of sugar on their brats who are sitting there playing gameboy. It is a disgrace.
Their rationale was that it will make them an extra $1 million per year. Well, good luck with that. Even JoCo soccer moms will eventually stop driving their earth movers (Suburban, Expedition, etc) to games when gas hits $4.50 per gallon.
I like the idea, but clearly I'm bitter.
Posted at: May 9, 2008 2:14 PM