Kansas City Royals Party Like It's 1985

— -- The Kansas City Royals have been waiting for this since the 1980s.

The energy. The buzz. The heart-pounding moments. Baseball in October.

And somehow, some way, the Royals prevailed, rallying against the Oakland Athletics to win 9-8 in the 12th inning of Tuesday’s American League wild-card game.

The last time the Royals were playing postseason baseball, the 1985 World Series, only 12 of the team’s current players were alive. The franchise has spent the past quarter-century in a state of perpetual rebuild. Star players such as George Brett, Bret Saberhagen, Carlos Beltran and Johnny Damon retired or were traded away or left in free-agency. Prospects fizzled. Springtime optimism turned to summer frustration and fall discontent.

But not this year. Not yet.

The Athletics were in control early in Tuesday’s game, building a four-run lead. But Kansas City battled back, scoring three runs in the eighth and one in the ninth inning to send the game to extra innings.

The teams failed to score in the 10th and 11th innings.

Oakland took the lead in the 12th inning, scoring a run on a single by former Royals player Alberto Callaspo.

Kansas City faced long odds, again. But Eric Hosmer – one of the team’s young stars – drilled a ball to deep center field. Athletics outfielders Sam Fuld and Jonny Gomes tried to make the catch, but instead got tangled up on each other as Hosmer raced to third.

Christian Colon followed with a chopper that bounced a few feet in front of the plate, a weakly-hit grounder that bounced high enough to accomplish its goal.

Hosmer slid home and pumped his fist. The fans, 40,502 of them, erupted. Pandemonium. Tie game, again.

The tie didn’t last much longer. After Colon stole second base, Salvador Perez smacked the ball past diving third baseman Josh Donaldson to bring home the winning run. The Royals swarmed onto the field, dancing in the October night, champagne-drenched joy after 29 soul-crushing seasons.