We're in last place, but our gas is cheap
By CHRIS RASMUSSEN
If I’ve been negative in assessing Kansas City sports, there’s a reason:
We’ve hit bottom.
Sure, Kansas won basketball’s national championship and Missouri is a national power in football. Yes, that brings joy to some fans who have yet to visit either campus, let alone attend a class. But today, wearing “Kansas City” on a uniform guarantees a one-way trip to the cellar.
The Wizards, Royals and the Brigade are all in last place. The Chiefs finished last in 2007 and traded away their best defensive player in the off-season for untested draft choices. Our only team not in last place is the Kansas City T-Bones, surprising those unaware that the Northern League keeps track of wins and losses.
Arguably, the greatest sporting triumph for this town was David Cook’s victory in American Idol’s annual search for the best cover artist (or the best artist covering another artist’s cover).
Partly, this is the trade-off of living in a small market. New York gets well-heeled owners and lucrative crime-ridden subways; we get Wal-Mart’s David Glass but parking is ample. Los Angeles gets David Beckham and Midwestern imports vying to become the next Candace Bushnell; the Wizards get the disappointing Claudio Lopez but we successfully avoid the aspiring Bushnells unless they visit on holidays. Chicago produces Barack Obama and might draft Michael Beasley; we have no NBA team but our mayor is a tower of unintentional humor.
We’re smaller, but our fans are loyal and passionate – it's a miracle that people still pay attention to the Royals, let alone attend their games. When (not if) the Chiefs, Wizards and Royals win again, the victories will feel more important.
I’m not going anywhere.
Oh, and our gas prices are the cheapest in the country. Suck on that, LA.
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