JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – With the return of the Kansas City Royals as a winning franchise after decades of disappointment, baseball threatens to create the largest divide of allegiance in Missouri since the Civil War.
And Rep. Courtney Allen Curtis, D-St. Louis, is doing nothing to cool those tensions.
He currently has a bill that would make the St. Louis Cardinals the official baseball team of the state of Missouri. The bill has been second read in the House, though not yet referred to a committee.
Curtis has caused some understandable controversy given the state of Missouri has two Major League Baseball teams residing within its borders. The bill’s filing came just months after the Kansas City Royals won their first World Series in three decades.
Understandably, the bill has angered some of the Royals fans in the legislature. Sen. Ryan Silvey, R-Kansas City, was perhaps the most vocal about his displeasure with the legislation. Silvey told the Kansas City Star that Curtis’ purpose of the legislation was “clearly just trying to get attention for himself back home.”
Rankle? No. More like amuse. It’s cute. Like a 5th grader trying to dunk. It’ll never happen, but bless his heart. https://t.co/cyLM18ZulM
— Ryan Silvey (@RyanSilvey) March 23, 2016
Rep. Jeremy LaFaver, D-Kansas City, did not hold back either. He retweeted a poll asking what the state football team should be, the Kansas City Chiefs… or the now-Los Angeles Rams.
