I’ll be the first to admit I’m not much of a baseball fan, in fact the title of this blog post is an inside joke with some of my friends. A couple weeks ago I was invited over to Julie’s house to watch the Rockies play and I believe my exact words were, “I’d rather scrape my nuts off with a cheese-grater than watch baseball.” As time went on though and the Rockies kept their unbelievable winning streak alive, I became more intrigued. Well the Rockies kept winning and eventually found themselves in their first-ever World Series. Then it was time to purchase tickets online. Originally I wasn’t interested but then at 12:45 p.m. on Tuesday, I decided to try to get some tickets, more as a challenge to myself since I’m a web-programmer by trade. Since the rest of the world had a 45 minute head start on me, I didn’t think my chances were that great, but I decided to give it a shot anyway. I didn’t hack into the system but I was able to read and decipher the JavaScript code the website was using to side-step the 2 minute countdown and access the correct URL directly. I got in rather quickly on 2 separate screens and as I was completing my transaction for 4 Rockpile tickets to Game 3 and Game 4, I got an error on both and had to start all over again. Luckily I was still “inside” and was able to purchase 4 tickets to Game 3 but the Rockpile was sold-out for Game 4. Now all I had to do was decide if I should cash in on eBay or go to the game, and if so who should I take. Hmmm, decisions decisions.
Well it was decided that Amy, Julie, and Charlie were the lucky ones so we loaded the shuttle in Boulder Saturday afternoon. We were really excited to be at the first-ever World Series game to be played in Denver and the stadium seemed to be charged with electricity.
All the pre-game festivities got everyone fired up and ready for the game to finally begin, especially the fly-by of 4 jets out of Buckley Air Force base. The Rockpile was rocking, there were even a couple of Red Sox fans who flew in from Boston sitting directly in front of us. After some good-natured ribbing from us and the Red Sox fans we knew we were in for a fun game.
The atmosphere was buzzing through the first few innings and the game remained scoreless. Charlie and I went on a beer run and we when returned the Red Sox had lit up the scoreboard taking a 6-0 lead in the 3rd inning. Things weren’t looking good until the 6th when the Rockies finally got on the board. Matt Holiday’s 3-run homer to make the score 6-5 brought life back into Coors Field. The Red Sox fans in front of us were wanting the Rockies to make it interesting, well the game just became r e a l l y interesting!!
On the field the Red Sox became too much for the Rockies to handle and the game began slipping away until it was finally over. We had a great time at the game despite all the lousy fans we got stuck sitting by. With the Rockies eventually getting swept in 4 straight games it is obvious that they could learn a lot from the Red Sox about rising to the occasion on the big stage. In their defense, it was their first time to the big show. Even more sadly however, a lot of the Rockies fans could learn a much bigger lesson from 3 guys from Boston who were the nicest and most fun people we encountered during the entire game, they were a shining example of what a true fan should be. Rockies fans take note, “support your team all year, be respectful to the opposing team’s fans, and when the entire season is on the line, STAND UP AND CHEER!!!”
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Nice work Rex! Rockies had a great run but you are right on the money in regards to their fans. I was at the 1 Game playoff against the Padres and watched in disbelief as the fans booed Jorge Julio off the field in the top of the 11th… only to go totally ape-shit when the Rocks rallied in the bottom of the 11th. Not surprisingly Donkies fans typically react the same way - give nothing and expect everything.
I was in Boston for the 1st 2 games of the World Series and the atmosphere there was unbelievable… electric… straight up wicked! Folks in that town eat, breathe, sleep, live and die by the Red Sox. They root hard for their Red Sox whether they’re playing the lowly D-Rays or the mighty Yankees. And the majority of folks could care less about the Pats, Celtics, or Bruins… in that town it’s all about the SOX baby!
So all I have to say to all of the fair-weather Rockies fans is this. Great season, great run, and definitley a lot to look forward to. Next year, how about sackin’ up and routing hard for the Rocks starting April 1st… as opposed to waiting to see where they land come October 1st. You like apples? Well the Sox are a cool 8-0 in World Series games this century. How you like them friggin apples! Wicked!