FAYETTEVILLE (KFSM) – With the Kansas City Royals making their first World Series appearance in nearly 30 years, fans were at local sports bars to watch the game.
“It was important to be part of it, to see the final game before the World Series,” said Jeff Hemmel, a Royals fan from Kansas City.
Hemmel was one of many Royals fans who was watching the game in Fayetteville, but lives in Kansas City. Kansas City is about 240 miles from Fayetteville.
With the cities being so close, some Royals fans found themselves watching Wednesday’s (Oct. 15) game at Foghorn’s Sports Bar in Fayetteville.
“It is kind of a surreal feeling,” Hemmel said.
“We’ve been waiting for this for 29 years,” said Neil Surber, referencing the Royals' 1985 World Series, the last time the team made the Fall Classic.
Scott Jordan lives in Kansas City as well. However, he is in Arkansas on a business trip. He said he was celebrating the win in Arkansas, only imagining what Kansas City’s celebrations were like.
“You can’t beat a sweep of eight games in a row, and it is just fun to watch,” Jordan said. “They’re going crazy there---a lot of fireworks, a lot of cheering.”
The Royals AA minor league team, the Northwest Arkansas Naturals, calls Springdale home. Thirteen of the Royals players came up through Kansas City's minor league system and played for the Naturals.
As for the fans, some hope the team will now travel east for their future games.
“We are hoping for an I-70 series,” Surber said. “We want the Cardinals, and we would like a Royal victory.”