I will admit disappointment when it was announced the World Series Championship trophy would be on tour instead of the annual Royals Caravan this winter. The caravan was started by Ewing Kaufman before the Royals had even played a game in the winter of 1968-’69 as sort of a quaint idea of getting the boys out into the hinterland to drum up support for the new team. Kaufman knew that for a small-market club like the Royals to be successful, their fan base would have to come from miles around.

Admittedly, the caravan changed over the years to a bigger production, but with lesser players. It became increasingly difficult to get the most popular players to commit to this off-season activity. Most players do not live in Kansas City, and the ones that did come had little chance of being a Royal at the end of the season or not even making it out of spring training still in the majors.

But the more I thought about it and talked with fans, the more I realized how excited they were to see the trophy and more importantly, have their picture taken with it. In this day and age, something has not happened until it’s been recorded and then posted to social media. What a great opportunity to share a little of the excitement that Royals fans have had over the last couple of years than to have my picture taken with the symbol of baseball’s highest achievement.

It’s pretty easy to measure a teams’ success on the field, just glance at the scoreboard. A teams’ success off the field is measured by the fans and their commitment through thick and thin. The Royals have always done a good job of making sure the fans feel like they are a part of any success they’ve had, and taking to trophy out to let us have a look and record the moment turned out to be a great way for us to celebrate all over again.