St. Louis fan agrees with KC’s Brett on call in ‘85 World Series, but why so rude? | Opinion

George Brett really went there. The Royals great told St. Louis to “suck on it.”

Did he really have to be so rude?

My colleague in Sports, Pete Grathoff, previewed the debut of MLB Network’s documentary “Brett.” It spoke to the 11-year-old rabid St. Louis Cardinals fan in me, but I am writing this from a grown-up’s perspective. I won’t brag or boast, wag a finger or stick out my tongue.

Like Brett did.

I watched with great interest. In it, the former Royals Hall of Fame player recalled umpire Don Denkinger’s infamous missed call at first base during Game 6 of 1985 World Series with St. Louis.

Still, last I checked, the scoreboard read: St. Louis 11, Kansas City 2 in terms of world championships.

Only those dreaded New York Yankees have more World Series titles — 27 in all — than St. Louis. The Royals have two.

Trailing 1-0 in the bottom of the 9th inning, the Royals would win the game 2-1, crushing my little 11-year-old heart.

Of course, the Royals mollywhopped the Redbirds 11-0 in Game 7. As a result, my favorite childhood memories were tainted by a devastating World Series loss to a cross-state rival.

“For crying out loud, St. Louis,” Brett says in the 2-hour doc. “You didn’t show up for Game 7, you lost 11-0. Suck on it.”

Brett, an icon here in Kansas City, makes an excellent point. Why was he so crude about it, though?

As a native of St. Louis and a lifelong die-hard Cardinals fan — I was hooked when we won the 1982 World Series — it pains me to agree with Brett. But he is correct. It’s time for my home town to get over the blown call and the 1985 I-70 World Series.

I did. It wasn’t easy.

I learned some things about Brett during MLB Network’s entertaining 2-hour deep dive on one of the finest players the Royals ever had.

Despite playing in a smaller market, Brett was a megastar. I’d heard about the three consecutive playoff losses to the New York Yankees in the late 1970s.

I didn’t know Brett and his mates finally got past New York to win the American League pennant and advance to the 1980 World Series. He missed a World Series game that year against Philadelphia due to hemorrhoid surgery. Brett and others recalling that story was perhaps my favorite part of the film. He was a gamer, though.

Controversy over the 1976 AL batting title with teammate Hal McRae caught my attention as did Brett’s complicated relationship with his father, who Brett described as never satisfied with Brett’s on-field performance.

But it was Brett’s ire toward St. Louis fans that resonated with me most. It took years for me to get over Denkinger’s call. Because of his mistake, I hated the Royals. My childhood pain turned to jubilation in 2006 when the Cardinals defeated the Detroit Tigers in the World Series.

After a 24-year world title drought, just like that, my grudge with Denkinger and the Royals was lifted. When I moved here in 2007, there was no ill will left.

By 2011, after St. Louis won the 11th world championship in franchise history, all was forgiven.

Oddly enough, I rooted for Kansas City during the Royals’ pennant runs in 2014 and 2015. In case fans forget, that 2015 World Series title was only the second in team history.

Brett went there, but I won’t. And I’ll just leave it at that.