Dayton Moore's family left his birthplace in Wichita when he was 5 years old, but that was plenty of time to develop a lifelong affinity for the Kansas City Royals. Nearly a quarter century after George Brett popped a neck vein in the Bronx, Moore still can't hear the words "pine tar bat" without feeling a sense of remorse.
You want hard-core? In October 1985, Moore and a junior college buddy drove to Kansas City for Game 7 of the World Series. They were too broke to buy tickets from a scalper, so they watched the Royals beat St. Louis from the Interstate 70 overpass.
"The only thing we couldn't see was Lonnie Smith in left field," Moore said.