Sports teams and players, in general, have not been known to cause musings of any artistic value. However, if you’re a fan of the Kansas City Royals you must be pleased with your team this year. First, you had the random drunk guy doing the Truffle Shuffle, and then Royals fans were treated to Fountain Girl. But, you rarely see chart-topping hits sparked to fruition by your favorite sports team. Let alone any team from Kansas City. But that’s exactly what happened in the case of Lorde’s Royals.

Somehow, way back when, in the land of Hobbits, Lorde saw a copy of a National Geographic that had the following photo in between its covers:

georgebrett

Yet, Lorde did not know who Brett was or why he was signing baseballs. She just saw the word Royals on his shirt, liked it, and then wrote a song titled that. Pretty crazy. Going further down the rabbit hole, none of this would not have been possible to find out, though, if the Kansas City Royals had not been terrible for so long. Apparently, this is the only photo in the National Geographic archives with a baseball player from the Royals signing baseballs. Not that it’s that rare (it might be), but there is little doubt in anyone’s mind had it been a Yankee there would have been multiple photos.

So, there you have it. New Zealander Lorde wrote her song about George Brett and the Kansas City Royals. Maybe it was written as a warning to all free agents to never sign there. Who knows? All we know is that her next song should be titled Pine Tar. Just saying.

[KansasYouTube]

People were interested in these podcasts
Play Episode
72min
The Play-By-Play
ESPN and MLB split, Jay Caspian Kang joins for Stephen A. Smith political talk
What is Stephen A. Smith's political endgame? The New Yorker's Jay Caspian King joins Awful Announcing's Ben Axelrod and Brendon Kleen to discuss. Ben and Brendon will also talk about ESPN opting out of their MLB contract after 2025, as well as various NBA topics including Richard Jefferson and Brian Windhorst on the latest episode of The Play-By-Play.Time Stamps:-2:04: ESPN opts out of MLB rights after 2025-20:36: View From the Subreddit: ESPN Edition-26:14: “Court of Gold”-39:02: The New Yorker’s Jay Caspian Kang joins to discuss Stephen A. Smith’s political aspirations-1:03:34: Richard Jefferson joining Mike Breen and Doris Burke on NBA Finals broadcast-1:07:23: Brian Windhorst a free agent after the NBA seasonYou can subscribe to The Play-By-Play wherever podcasts are found. Please subscribe, rate and review!Download The Play-By-Play:Listen on AppleListen on SpotifyAwful Announcing on XAwful Announcing on FacebookAwful Announcing on InstagramAwful Announcing on ThreadsAwful Announcing on BlueSkyAwful Announcing on LinkedIn Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
The Play-By-Play
Looking ahead at 2025 in sports media with AA head Ben Koo
As we enter 2025, we take a look at some sports media storylines in the next year. Awful Announcing publisher Ben Koo discusses those topics with Play-By-Play hosts Ben Axelrod and Brendon Kleen.Time Stamps:-1:29: College football changes-14:19: Social media and sports-29:25: NBA and their new media partners-39:31: UFC media rights-50:08: Launch of ESPN Flagship-1:01:22: Where does Bill Simmons go?-1:02:54: Where does Colin Cowherd go?-1:07:35: Stephen A. Smith’s new ESPN contract-1:12:03: How long does Tom Brady last at Fox?-1:12:24: Top ESPN NBA booth in 2025-26?-1:14:50: Bold predictions for 2025You can subscribe to The Play-By-Play wherever podcasts are found. Please subscribe, rate and review!Download The Play-By-Play:Listen on AppleListen on SpotifyAwful Announcing on XAwful Announcing on FacebookAwful Announcing on InstagramAwful Announcing on ThreadsAwful Announcing on BlueSkyAwful Announcing on LinkedIn Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
The Play-By-Play
Kendrick Perkins and NIL, ESPN NBA broadcasters, World Cup rights competition
Kendrick Perkins' NIL company taking advantage of high school athletes? ESPN announces their NBA broadcasters but don't announce specific teams. Fox expected to get some competition for World Cup rights. Awful Announcing's Ben Axelrod and Drew Lerner discuss these topics and more on the latest episode of The Play-By-Play.Time Stamps:-1:05: ESPN 2024-25 NBA broadcaster announcement-21:31: Dan Murphy’s article on Kendrick Perkins’ NIL company-33:40: Feedback from last week’s NFL broadcasters draft-44:17: FIFA World Cup rights-49:22: TBS baseball scorebugYou can subscribe to The Play-By-Play wherever podcasts are found. Please subscribe, rate and review!Download The Play-By-Play:Listen on AppleListen on SpotifyAwful Announcing on XAwful Announcing on FacebookAwful Announcing on InstagramAwful Announcing on ThreadsAwful Announcing on BlueSkyAwful Announcing on LinkedIn Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
The Play-By-Play
Luka to the Lakers, Nick Wright's Chiefs defense, Colin Cowherd stays at FS1
Two weeks of Super Bowl coverage is going to bring repeated talking points. Sports betting companies are cutting funding for sponsored content. Awful Announcing's Ben Axelrod and Brendon Kleen discuss these topics and more, including Deion Sanders and the Dallas Cowboys on the latest episode of The Play-By-Play.Time Stamps:-:27: Podcast speed-3:19: Luka Dončić trade to Lakers-24:55: Nick Wright vs. Adam Schefter-31:23: Colin Cowherd extending with FS1-42:48: Cam Newton-56:16: Streamers-1:03:47: Super Bowl viewership will break recordsYou can subscribe to The Play-By-Play wherever podcasts are found. Please subscribe, rate and review!Download The Play-By-Play:Listen on AppleListen on SpotifyAwful Announcing on XAwful Announcing on FacebookAwful Announcing on InstagramAwful Announcing on ThreadsAwful Announcing on BlueSkyAwful Announcing on LinkedIn Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.