It took a while to get over game 7. With two outs in the bottom of the 9th and seemingly no hope to get anything going off of World Series MVP Madison Bumgarner, Alex Gordon, the teams best regular season player stepped to the plate. Alex hit a ball well into center field and it dropped for a hit. That’s when it seemed that divine intervention may have come into play. Center Fielder Gregor Blanco kicked the ball away and it rolled all the way to the wall. I had flashbacks of September, when the Royals came back from a 4 run late inning deficit to defeat the Oakland A’s and start this magical October run. Everything was moving in slow motion. Alex went into 3rd base standing up and seemed just about as shocked as the rest of us were. It seemed inevitable. This Royals team was destined to win. They had to be. With one out to go, the Royals were 90 feet away from extending this historic series, and stealing all of the momentum. The man at the plate was Catcher and All-Star Salvador Perez, the same man who hit a walk off double to win the Wild Card game.

The result would not be the same this time. Salvy Perez popped up to the third baseman Pablo Sandoval and the Royals magic had finally run out. For a few days this hurt, pretty much up until I write this now. It was an unbelievable season to watch, and the realization that it was over was probably the hardest thing to get over. I’ve always said baseball is like a best friend. It’s there everyday, and when a season ends without a championship it can feel like losing a best friend. That’s what this felt like.

From the improbable August-September playoff run, to the incredible wildcard comeback, to the 8 straight playoff wins, to an incredibly played 7 game World Series, this team gave us more than we could have ever asked for at the beginning of 2014. I would like to personally thank the team for the greatest 6 months of my 17 years on this planet. Growing up on the East Coast, I’ve seen some great playoff teams, and some amazing runs. Despite this, I can say I have never seen anything like this team.

From the speed of Dyson and Gore to the incredible bullpen to the exciting young talent, this was one heck of a team to watch. And this is what eventually pulled me out of the post World Series depression. This was only the beginning. This was a team finally becoming confident in its aproach. This was Eric Hosmer and Mike Moustakas finally realizing their talent, and this was a pitching staff with arguably the most talent in the league. So instead of thinking about those 90 feet, those one or two plays that could have won us a championship, it’s time to look ahead to 2015 where the Royals (pending a couple of offseason upgrades on offense) look primed to make another run, and have another shot at those 90 feet.

Until next year, Royals fans, when we will truly get to party like it’s 1985.