It's really sad, but it must done. Every year, hope springs eternal, and the Kansas City Royals start a new baseball season tied for first place. After a nice 5-0 start, the Royals settled into a .500 record by the end of April. Mediocrity was fine by me. The Royals ended May with a 12-game losing streak and have officially tanked on the season. Again. Like almost every season, I must let go of my baseball team by the first of June.

Let go.

If you're like my oldest brother and I doubt you are (read his column underneath), you can find the silver lining in all the carnage that is the Kansas City Royals franchise. "Their pitching is better," "There's some good talent in the farm system," "They are making some good moves on the roster," etc. I just can't do it. The nuances aren't enough for me. I look at the standings and see K.C. down at the bottom. Again.

Let go.

It was 1985 when the Royals provided me with my one moment of sports bliss by winning the World Series. I was eleven years old. Since then, they haven't even made the playoffs. I root for them out of some strange dedication to my youth. I was born in Kansas and spent the first ten years of my life in Royals country. Farm folk and God-fearing Midwesterners rooting die hard for their Royal blue. My parents moved back to K.C. over ten years ago, so rooting for the good ol' Royals is like rooting for my good ol' parents. I'm still rooting for my parents, even during their losing streaks.

Let go.

I'm not the only one who has to let go, and I'm not just talking about Mariners, Rockies and Nationals fans (although it would be a good idea for them to follow suit). To secure the Democratic Nomination, Barack Obama has had to let go of his church. The Trinity Church in Chicago is just a little bit too crazy for the rest of the country to stomach. People have begun to wonder why Obama stuck with this crazy racist and fanatical church all these years, and it brought his poll numbers down. I've stuck with a baseball team that hasn't been a winner in over two decades. Why do I stick with my crazy baseball franchise? I've been doing it so long, I don't know how not to do it. Obama had to give up on his church. His faith. His religion. A small but necessary price to pay for the presidency.

Let go.

The Albuquerque spelling phenom went to nationals again this year after placing in the top ten the year before. ESPN came to town to do a human relations piece on the kid. Naturally, he went down in the fifth round for a disappointing top twenty finish, and his piece was not aired. There are so many ways to jinx yourself, and so precious few ways to be the best. So much for spelling well. Just take a break this summer &

Let go.

It's time to let go of a lot of things. Cool weather, spring flings, cheap gas. They won't come back like we want them. Summer awaits, and we will melt again. I've had to let go of my youth. With a girlfriend 14 years my junior and a baby girl less than three months away, I am definitely The Man these days. I've let go of my bachelor life. It really wasn't that difficult.

Let go.

Even though I can discard my bachelor status, my fresh spring attitude, and even my faith without too much regret, there is still this baseball team that I allow to break my heart every year. I don't know why. It's always pretty obvious that they don't have the talent or payroll of the Yankees, Mets & Red Sox. The Royals couldn't even hit home runs during the steroid years. They didn't even know how to cheat correctly. It makes me wonder why I put myself in this situation. I should really just...

Let go.

I'm going to do it. No more Royals. No more checking the ticker on ESPN to see the final score. No more flipping through the Sports section to find the box score and discover what went wrong. No more counting how many games separate the last place Royals from the lousy fourth place Tigers. By the way, the Royals have beaten the Tigers all six times they've played this year, and Detroit still has a better overall record. But wait, what's this? The Cubs have the best record in baseball? The same Cubs who haven't won the World Series since 1906? That makes 1985 look like yesterday. Maybe I can still root for a potential winner/lovable loser. Maybe I can still watch some baseball this summer. Maybe we can always find a reason to

Hold on.

Chris Jungle cannot spell, pray or play baseball very well.