Even the Losers Get Lucky Sometimes
I’m going to take this time to talk about our beloved sports teams, but for all of you readers who look to this space each week to read an uncommonly candid column about Parkville politics, there’s some of that at the end too, so please stick with me here.
I grew up a fan of the Yankees, Giants, Knicks and Rangers (that used to be a pro hockey team). And, unlike people may think based on recent wins and all of that “New York market” money, believe me when I tell you that all of them were quite bad. As a result, I learned how to enjoy seasons of discontent. I learned how to appreciate the speculation, the heated debates, the analysis of the situation befalling the club.
Bill Parcells, Phil Simms, Mark Messier, Joe Torre and Derek Jeter put an end to most of my misery, but I have to say that I’m glad I learned how to be a sports fan during the lean years. I think it helped me appreciate the “story” of each season a little better.
Maybe the current generation of Kansas City Royals fans had it too good. After all, they began winning relatively soon after their creation. (And for those of you who want to remind me about the Kansas City Monarchs or the Athletics, don’t bother…today’s current batch of fans have about as much in common with that history as they do with Charlie Parker or Count Basie’s). But where are the fans? Win or lose, I’m still interested about what is going on at Kauffman Stadium.
That said, this is probably a pretty good point to plug our sports section…er…om…our sports page.
“Rob and Rany on the Royals” is clearly the best baseball column in the Kansas City market. Rob Neyer, a staple of ESPN’s baseball coverage, and Rany Jazayerli, a co-author of The Baseball Prospectus, offer insights on Royal’s baseball that are unparalleled. I’m not disrespecting Joe Posnanski or Jeffrey Flanagan by saying that either. It’s just that these two tell it like it is on the field and they don’t treat sports any more importantly than they should be taken.
Likewise, the great Bill Grigsby delivers insights on the future of Chiefs football while taking us for a stroll down a nostalgic lane — a very optimistic lane — each week. He broke the story of the Surtain trade to me about two months before any other media outlet did. And you have to love the positive vibes he sends out for the men in red. You know, the “all we need to do is win the next nine games in a row” stuff?
With coverage like that, at least the reader ends up the big winner. If you’re reading The Luminary, then guess what? You…you’re the big winner.
Speaking of, The Luminary received a letter the other day thanking us for “making Parkville politics a spectator sport.” I’ve been out of town for a few days, but the letter in this week’s Luminary really made me realize how much I miss all of that action. Maybe I’ve been gone too long, because I’m actually agreeing with someone named Poole.
Residents have every right to question the wisdom of a biker party in the downtown section of town. From my experience with events of this sort, however, we’re not talking about the Hell’s Angels riding into town. I feel relatively confident that Parkville is not going to turn into Sturgis every Tuesday night. And just because Parkville has a history of drunken street brawling doesn’t mean that every event with a beer stand should send out a call to Carrie Nation.
The whole notion that English Landing is trying to ruin life in The Bluffs is a divisive one that really reared its head during last election and it needs to stop. The fervent tone and subsequent actions taken in these arguments affects the quality of life for some people here too, you know.
The merchants in English Landing are among the most positive, fun-to-be-around people in the city. They chose to open shop in Parkville because they love it here, too. They want to be neighborly, and they want your patronage very much. If there are to be special meetings of The Bluffs Homeowners Association over this I encourage them to invite as many of the small shop owners up there as they can.
In the meantime, as we go to press I understand that the people behind the promotion have contacted our reporter and have already backed off the idea of selling alcoholic beverages outdoors. My guess is Mrs. Poole’s letter already had an impact in that regard. Now, the major concern is noise pollution. This is a real quality of life concern that the merchants of English Landing need to consider carefully.
I don’t think it’s legal to ban motorcycles from Parkville and I’m assuming 300 bikers could organize and come here on their own without our invite. As I understand it, this event will be done on a trial basis, spanning four Tuesdays in May. Residents should be able to tell if they can live with its noise after about…oh….one of them. If that is the case, that could be communicated to the merchants without an embargo or troop deployment, and it will be done with.
It’s simply the neighborly thing to do.