Bob CollinsBrian Follmann, of Massena, Iowa, always had hope that the Kansas City Royals would make it to the World Series and he and his family could go to a game.
But in June, he died in a baler in his hay field. His family couldn’t bear to watch the baseball games anymore, the Des Moines Register says. A 10-game winning streak by the team ended the next day.
But the TV remained dark as the summer passed. She heard rumblings of the Royals’ newfound success and saw a score now and then. But it was too painful to watch them again.
That is, until the day the Royals were to play their first playoff game in 29 years. The victor in the winner-take-all wild-card game against Oakland would advance to the American League Division Series.
“You have to watch,” she told the kids. “Dad would be just freaked out if we weren’t watching.”
They went into the basement instead of the living room and watched an astounding comeback. Down 7-3, the Royals won, 9-8.
“It’s amazing how this can make you feel closer to him,” she said. “We needed it.”
On Tuesday night, the family went to the World Series.
“He always said he wanted to go to the World Series before he died,” his wife said. “It’s still like he is — because I’m taking the family to do what he always wanted to do.
“I can’t say that God cares about baseball. But for us it seems so perfect.”
