We Got This – 2015 Royals Slogan

After decades of complete irrelevancy, you can imagine a marketing department (and ticket office) to take full advantage of the recent crown.Over the course of the exciting playoff run, there were countless times I’d turn to my girlfriend, text a buddy or just openly declare, ‘We Got This”, inspired by the cool improbability of winning the Wild Card Game. This inexplicable calm and confidence was mentioned in this great write up of the wild card game by Grantland’s Rany Jazayerli. It became a mantra, where no other words needed be said, and just expecting another infield basehit, an extra base, or a dramatic catch resulting in another of the Royals’ eight consecutive playoff wins to drive to the Series.

Another perspective on the slogan is that the very words, ‘We Got This” can be uttered from the mouths of Ned Yost, Dayton Moore, and the up until October nearly invisible owner David Glass. After the playoff run, all three men now can point to last year’s successes and say, “We Got This”, exhorting the fanbase to accept their foibles, master plans and frugal methods.

When the slumps came last year, and division and wild card hopes seemed to be on the fading past the horizon, Royals fans got restless. Weak inning ending popups and soft ground outs plagued the potential of Moustakas as he battled the Mendoza line throughout the season. Butler’s listless bat lost its pop, while Hosmer’s seemed contained. Columnists composed Shields-Myers comments that could be used for the next thirty years. It seemed there was so much potential but unrealized. On top of the personal questions, Yost’s bunting strategies, willingness to give away outs made the fanbase impatient and even more frustrated. Now, for better or worse, in the afterglow of the playoff run, everything has changed.  Moore’s plan worked, Yost’s managing somehow succeeded, Glass spent just enough and this offseason is the first bellweather as to whether or not anything has changed. Do they sign a free agent, or do repetitive headlines dominate the day?

Of course, fans are optimistically hoping this past season signals a sea change in the way the Royals are run, and perhaps even more importantly, perceived throughout the league.

Kansas City has always been a city with unlimited potential, a midwestern politeness that keeps its pride firmly in check.  It often appears anonymous on the coasts and in cities it foolishly spends its time trying to copy (like Austin. seriously, why?).  When I was living here in the late nineties, going to school, breaking into an abandoned Union Station and slinging dogs in the shadows of George Brett at Royals Stadium, the city’s soul was apparent but in disrepair.

Listing the ways this city has changed over the years is a futile exercise to everyone who witnessed it. The SkyStations came. Oklahoma Joe’s opened. In a few years, Union Station was renovated, Liberty Memorial followed suit, buildings in downtown stopped being razed and the KC Star building and KCPL (for better or worse) were raised. All of a sudden, Kansas City’s pride, always there, always bubbling under the surface, spoke, and a sense of daring returned.  Artists, Chefs and visionaries returned to their KC roots to build great restaurants, stores and bring value back to the city.

The playoff run for the Royals helped cap all of this. As improbable and fun as it was, those October days saw this city abuzz and important again. Hopefully the Royals will make the wise decisions they need to make, and the city manages its growth with all of its eccentricities and problems, and Kansas Citians can kick back and enjoy the city and the best part about the city – its people. Now is the time for the Royals to change with city. It’s time to dare to eat a peach. We no longer have to come up with stupid slogans emphasizing ‘Major League Moments’, because, well, we got this.