Ellie and I have accumulated many a daily tradition during
our time together. There's the ever
popular morning nap, the morning feeding, the afternoon nap, the afternoon
feeding, and the late-afternoon (maybe) nap.
Interspersed in there too is ample play time and some walks during days
with nice weather. A relatively new item
has been added to the agenda over the past month. That item being the semi-daily car ride. See, every so often, Ellie gets really upset
and the only thing that calms her is a nice car ride. It normally only lasts about a half hour or
so in case you're curious.
This afternoon, when Ellie and I set out for our car ride, I
found myself pulled in a different direction than we normally traverse. I pointed the RAV-4 south on I-435 and found
myself driving until I came to a stop in the parking lot of Kauffman
Stadium. Definitely not a normal
destination for us unless we're heading to a Royals game. However, I think quite a bit of Kansas City
has joined me in a similar trip over the past 48 hours since Yordano Ventura's
untimely death. In the aftermath, the outside
of the stadium has become a place of healing for many a fan as a memorial has
been set up right outside the gates.
Fans are leaving cards, flowers, balloons, t-shirts, cap, and baseballs
all to acknowledge their "Ace".
While I myself, didn't come bearing gifts (just a baby in tow), I more
just wanted to take in the scene for myself and reflect a little.
See, like most Royals fans, I was saddened to hear the
news. However, it took me a little bit
of time and processing to figure out why.
The obvious reasons were there. I
was sad as a fan that I would never have the opportunity to see Ventura pitch
again. Even more so, I was saddened that
a fellow human being (even one that I
would never meet) had his life cut short in such a tragic way at such a young
age. As I continued to reflect, I found
myself thinking back to the 2015 season that Yordano was a huge part of and how
much it meant to me personally.
Obviously, as a lifelong Royals fan (and a long-suffering
Kansas City sports fan), I was absolutely over-the-moon to see a team that I
could call my own win an elusive championship.
For the first time in my life, sports had driven me to the point of
tears. It wasn't just #BecauseSports
though. Part of the reason why dated
back to April of that year. Bethany and
I had the misfortune of losing our first child after trying for quite some time. At the time, I felt like I couldn't mourn out
of a desire to support my wife. So
support her I did and in an attempt to bury some of my own grief, I found
myself following the Royals season super closely.
One of my highlights every night included turning on the
radio and listening to the closing innings of each Royals game. I would even plan my schedule around those
precious few games that would be televised locally. We attended a season high (for me) 11 Royals
games. The majority of those games would
be on Yordano's day to pitch. I found
him to simultaneously be the most intriguing and most frustrating player on the
team to watch. His skill and fiery
attitude could propel him to great heights but he could often be his worst
enemy. We even saw him thrown out of
games on more than one occasion for letting his emotions get the best of him.
As the season went along, the Royals found themselves with a
stranglehold on their division and leading the race for best team in the
American League. Once they finally
clinched, it was a foregone conclusion in my mind they would at least make it
to the AL Championship series. Sure it
was really stressful at times but the team went back to the World Series and
all the way to a Championship. By the
time the journey was over, I found myself emotionally exhausted, drained, and
finally allowed myself to sit back and process the events of the year. Hence the whole being driven to tears part. Little did I know at the time of that run
that Ellie would show up nine months later as one final bookend to that 2015
Royals season.
As I found myself standing outside "The K" today
looking at the display of love outpouring for a man I would never meet, I found
myself clutching my daughter just a little tighter and bowed my head. I said a little prayer thanking God for my
daughter and praying for Yordano, along with comfort for the rest of the team
that I had come to love. The two things cannot help but always be linked in my mind. #ForeverRoyal
#DaddyWrite
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