When SungWoo Lee — perhaps the most unlikely Royals superfan on the planet — signed up to make the trip from Seoul, South Korea, to Kansas City to see his beloved baseball team in person for the first time, he never expected this.
This is an outpouring of Midwestern hospitality, an entire sports community that has embraced Lee with customized welcome gifts, barbecue tailgate feasts in his honor, and guest privileges at Kauffman Stadium that culminated with Lee throwing out the ceremonial first pitch on Monday night.
And this is a majestic eight-game winning streak — coinciding almost perfectly with Lee’s arrival in the United States — that has improbably vaulted the sadsack Royals, who haven’t made the playoffs since 1985, to first place in the American League Central.
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“It’s just a credit to this whole community, this whole town,” Lee said, according to the Kansas City Star. “It’s just been this giant hug from this town. It’s been viral and insane.”
The whole fan base — even the team — seems enlivened by Lee’s unbridled optimism and devotion. He is scheduled to end his 10-day sojourn Thursday and return to Korea, but at this rate, the Royals may not let Lee leave.
“The dude is just diehard, and he never has a bad word to say about us, even when we were at our lowest of our low, and I was just really happy and honored to meet him,” said Royals lefty Danny Duffy.
Lee traces his fandom back to the early 1990s, a pre-broadband era when he kept up with the Royals from snippets of highlights on CNN. The Internet enabled him to communicate with like-minded Royals rooters (he tweets under the handle @Koreanfan_KC). Some of those online pals finally cajoled Lee into making the trip to America — and helped launch the groundswell of local support with the Twitter hashtag #SungWooToKC.
Some of the highlights of the itinerary since he arrived last Tuesday:
* Greeted by local television crews upon arrival at the airport.
* Exposed to regional cuisine and microbrews.
* Tailgates before the Chiefs’ preseason game.
* Visits the Royals’ minor league affiliate in northwest Arkansas.
* Tours Kauffman Stadium and meets some Royals dignitaries.
* Throws out first pitch before the series opener against the MLB-best A’s.
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“I can’t believe I’m here with all of the players … it’s surreal,” Lee said Monday, according to MLB.com.
It’s just about the best story going in baseball right now, is what it is.