The last time the Royals made the playoffs, they won the World Series.

It’s been 29 years, and that’s still all Royals fans can talk about.

A lot can change in 29 years, and Wichita State as we know it wasn’t around.

For starters, WSU had a football team the last time the Royals played in the postseason.

The team upset Kansas State 16-10 getting two field goals from freshman back-up kicker Brad Fleeman.

Basketball standout and WSU legend Xavier McDaniel became the first collegiate player to lead the nation in both scoring (27.4 points per contest) and rebounding (15) in the same season.

McDaniel would be chosen fourth overall in the following NBA draft by the Seattle Supersonics (now the Oklahoma City Thunder).

The last time the Royals made the playoffs, WSU became the only college campus in the world to have a video jukebox, which allowed students to watch music videos from campus instead of racing home to turn on MTV, which was only four years old at the time.

In 1985, the legal drinking age was changed from 18 to 19 years of age. This change affected the Union Station Pub, the 1985 equivalent to our Shocker Sports Grill & Lanes.

Eck Stadium was finished and opened in 1985.

WSU swept a double-header against Kansas Newman in the opening games.

The average cost for a gallon of gas was $1.20, the movie “Back to the Future” was released in theaters, Compact Discs (CDs) were introduced, Microsoft released the first version of the Windows operating system and WSU introduced computerized registration for classes.

A lot has changed at WSU in the past 29 years, but something us Royals fans can hang our hats on is that Kansas City is relevant in the baseball scene once again.

Let’s pray they don’t make us wait another 29 years to say that again.  

No one said being a Royals fan is easy, but this year’s team is making it worth it.