As a dyed in the wool, lifelong Cardinals fan and longtime resident of Kansas City, I think the time has come for me to drop a little knowledge on you.
The Cardinals don't consider the Royals rivals. Mostly they look at it as a chance to rest a few of their regulars. Honestly, I don't see how the players get geared up to play those games. They really don't mean anything. There's no chance they'll see them in the World Series, and probably won't see any of them at the All Star Game, except Zack Greinke.
Here's a little more knowledge. The only reason a Cardinals fan circles those games on the calendar is because they can drive to Kansas City, get a hotel room for two nights, eat out for two days, and see two ballgames for the price of seeing the same teams play twice in St. Louis.
And, to be completely honest, no one in St. Louis really wants to go to the Royals games. There's only a one in four chance they'll get to see anyone who's any good. (Greinke).
When the Cardinals beat the Tigers in 2006, I took a lot of abuse from Royals fans at my bar. They rooted for the Mets. They rooted for the Tigers. I had no one to celebrate with when the Redbirds earned their victory on that Friday night. I just drank a celebratory Irish Car Bomb and took a couple of phone calls from family members.
Of course, now I'm hearing the grumblings once again. Royals fans, who have no vested interest in the Dodgers, are rooting for them because they're playing the Cardinals. I can understand a Cubs fan suddenly becoming a Dodger fan because there's a rivalry. I do that myself, rooting for any team that plays the Broncos, or any team that plays Missouri.
But I can't understand the Royals' fan mentality when it comes to the Cardinals. 1985 was a long time ago. Concentrate on winning the weakest division in baseball, then maybe you can talk smack.
Go Cardinals.
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