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The 2014 World Series starts tonight between the Kansas City Royals and San Francisco Giants. It’s a miracle that the Royals are even there. Perhaps the biggest miracle is that the Royals overcame a debilitating addiction to the mega-popular app, “Clash of Clans” to save their season when it was about to fall apart at the seams.
You’ve probably wasted hours on the toilet at work while you sent your armies of barbarians, goblins and wall breakers into battle. It turns out when the Royals were two games under .500 in July, the team was obsessed with the game and the coaches finally had to step in and tell them to cut the shit. From the Kansas City Star:
One day early in the season, reserve Jarrod Dyson introduced Lorenzo Cain to “Clash of Clans.” Cain indulges in video games throughout the offseason. When he was drafted in the 17th round of the 2004 draft, he barely paused his game of “Madden NFL” to take a call from the Brewers. In “Clash of Clans,” he found a new channel for his interest.
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“Maybe I need to cut back some of my hours on it,” Cain said in July. “I think I’m going to cut back on it a little bit.”
Cain was laughing at the time. He may not have been aware that his coaches did not find humor in the situation. The frustration intensified later that month as the Royals frittered away their temporary lead on the Detroit Tigers. As the season burned, “Clash of Clans” acted as the fiddle.
A series of events helped arrest their descent. Before the team left Boston that Sunday in July, manager Ned Yost held a closed-door meeting and implored the players to show more energy. The next afternoon in Chicago, Kuntz beseeched his outfielders to focus their energies on the diamond.
Jesus. The season hung in the balance and these guys were busy nerding out on their iPads. Now, the Royals are playing in the team’s first World Series in 29 years, with Cain and Dyson playing key roles for KC. Cain was named the MVP of the ALCS and Dyson has been a burner on the basepaths and on defense in the late innings. Both of their careers saved because they decided to actually start focusing on their jobs.
Major Leaguers: They’re just like us!.
[via Kansas City Star]
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Brian McGannon
What do I love? I love happy hour, a good golf tan, and getting moderately drunk during dinner.
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