Last Call...

by Rox Girl on Aug 29, 2006 8:28 AM MDT in Rockpile

Walter from baseballnooz's diary on the right got me to thinking. Well, first by following the link it made me aware of another Rockies blogger, Daniel Bonface at On the Rox, who I will add to my blogroll shortly, but beyond that it got me to start thinking of the bandwagon, and I just wanted to make sure everybody was aware that this September is the last chance for converting to Rockies fandom and being convincing.

If you can remain a fan when the team is in last place, than you've earned your bona fides, I say. So, Dan, you're in. Same goes with the other Dan, and Mark and Tom and David and Drew and Gabe and Roxhead and all the rest down in my blogroll. Squeaky and Silverblood? Welcome sisters to the sorority of Purple in pinstripes. Everybody else on the Row? The same welcome has already gone to you, well, except for that sorority part, but I'm sure the frat house next door, Phi Ipsilon Coors, has plenty of space and beer left.

But my point is, rush closes now. Starting next season, when the Rockies regular roll to the playoffs begins, if you join the band wagon we'll welcome your voice and your fandom, but we'll always wonder if you're just another gloryhound riding the coattails of a winner and question your loyalty when things go rough. Just so you know, it's nothing personal, but seriously, those of us who've followed the team these last few years have been through a lot of misery together, a lot of misery. Tears. We're talking torture, and you, my fair weather friend of the future, you Rockies fan since 2007, you just won't know what it was like back in the day.

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Colorado baseball fans

My family used to spend our summer vacations driving back to Kansas City to catch a few Royals games because they were the 'local' team.

Whenever the going gets tough as a Rockies fan I just think about how hard being a die-hard Nuggets fan for the last 20 years has been and the Rockies ownership and management looks brilliant and successful in comparison. ;)

by MADness on Aug 29, 2006 3:42 PM MDT reply actions

I guess that's my cue

OhNo, who I posted a lot with over on Broncomania, just recently introduced me to this site. I can't believe I hadn't found it before. So that's my excuse for joining so late. I love that this site seems to focus especially on the farm system because that's really what interests me. It also looks like everyone knows what they're talking about, which is always nice.

In case you all are wondering, I was born and raised in Colorado, been a fan since '93, attended hundred of games, and never have liked any other team.

by PsychoChicken on Aug 29, 2006 4:29 PM MDT reply actions

Welcome!

Hola. :)

Anyone who remembers hearing Dante get booed for 'pulling a Manny' in left field on a regular basis(though it wouldn't have been thought of in those terms at the time) is OK as far as I am concerned. :)

by MADness on Aug 29, 2006 4:35 PM MDT up reply actions

Heh.

Booing Dante's lazy defense was definitely one of the perks of sitting in left field back then!

The myspaces were interesting. I kind of felt like a borderline stalker, but it's pretty cool seeing the personal side of the players as well as the relationships they have with each other - especially Fowler, Wimberly, and EY Jr.

by PsychoChicken on Aug 29, 2006 5:03 PM MDT up reply actions

Plugging

the site's MySpace page, but head over to Purple Row's page so you can get a unique view of the Rockies prospects who are "friends" of the site.

Russ

by Russ Oates on Aug 29, 2006 4:53 PM MDT up reply actions

wow! We're up to 33, now. Sweet!

I don't mind being a stalker for some of these guys.

by Rox Girl on Aug 29, 2006 5:07 PM MDT up reply actions

By the way, welcome!

Maybe I should make a quiz for potential Rockies fans like they give before you can become a citizen:

Describe Dante Bichette's defense in one word.

Roberto Mejia could best be compared to which of the following other former Rockies second basemen: Eric Young, Todd Walker, Jose Ortiz, or Luis A. Gonzalez.

How many homeruns did Larry Walker hit as a Rockie?

Who did Todd Helton back-up in his collegiate days?

We'll need some way we can tell the real fans from the pretenders.

by Rox Girl on Aug 29, 2006 5:18 PM MDT up reply actions

I like it

I don't think it's asking too much at all.

by PsychoChicken on Aug 29, 2006 5:44 PM MDT up reply actions

Roberto Mejia's a bit before my time

since I became a fan in 1996, but Jose Ortiz?

Russ

by Russ Oates on Aug 29, 2006 5:48 PM MDT up reply actions

Answers

I can't describe Dante's defense in a word, but let's just say that if he couldn't hit...
Luis A. Gonzalez?
I have no clue.
The god worshipped by many people in this state. I choose to have him remain nameless, though one of our farmhands (Seth Smith) backed up his brother.

by Rox Fan in TN on Aug 29, 2006 6:49 PM MDT up reply actions

That second one is probably a bit too theoretical

Anyway, we'd probably need a Rockies rabbinical council or some such equivalent to come up with a consensus opinion, so I'll probably strike it from the final draft and come up with another. Of course any answer that impies suckiness is okay for the first question, 248 for the third, and yeah, that fourth one's a trick question to make sure that people know that it takes equally legendary status to play in front of Helton.

by Rox Girl on Aug 29, 2006 6:57 PM MDT up reply actions

Hmm

I was actually going to say Ortiz for the 2nd one. I guess it's a matter of opinion, though.

Manning's got nothing on Helton... well, except for a few playoff appearances.

by PsychoChicken on Aug 29, 2006 7:09 PM MDT up reply actions

I originally though Ortiz when I wrote it up too,

As a highly touted prospect that flames out in the bigs, but I can see the Gonzalez comp.

by Rox Girl on Aug 29, 2006 7:19 PM MDT up reply actions

Perhaps a question like original player numbers

Such as Jerald Clark's number, or Charlie Hayes. Guys that only played in Colorado for one or two seasons at the beginning before getting run out of here.

by Prospector on Aug 29, 2006 8:25 PM MDT up reply actions

DO NOT SPEAK HIS NAME!!!

Haha, actually, since he managed to go 0-4 against Florida and never win a national championship or the Heisman... I'm not real sure why Vol fans hold him in such high regard. What's more, they actually beat Florida and won the national championship the year after he graduated... funny how those things work.

Ole Miss, on the other hand, went 4-7 the year after Eli graduated.

by Rox Fan in TN on Aug 29, 2006 9:02 PM MDT up reply actions

I agree

with Rox Girl. There is a high bandwagon potential here.

Speaking of being a fan for a while, I was going through some old boxes the other day and found a sealed, unopened CD-ROM that was the promotional giveaway on Opening Day 1998. Pretty cool to see.

On that note I'm heading out to meet my dad for dinner, then we're going to the game....

Go Rockies!

by Knepster on Aug 29, 2006 4:53 PM MDT reply actions

There was just Something

About a game at old Mile High. I thought it was actually a cool place to watch a baseball game.....

TSG -

Mile High Report

The Sports Guru

by TheSportsGuru @ Purple Row on Aug 29, 2006 6:35 PM MDT reply actions

Opening Day 1993

I remember sitting in the library my Junior year of HS watching this game. I felt so elated that Colorado finally had a pro baseball team. I have been to every Opening Day game but three (I also believe Opening Day should be a national holiday and thus a paid day off). The three I have missed: 1993 because I was in high school, 1995 because I had a college Chemistry test and 2003, because I was in grad school down in Texas. I also still have all ticket stubs to prove my fan status. Go Rockies.

by Prospector on Aug 29, 2006 8:31 PM MDT reply actions

Since 1993

Well, I have to establish my bona fides then, don't I?

I've been a fan since 1993. I've been to every final game of the season. (Never could afford Opening Day until recently)

Let no one ever claim that I was a fair-weather fan.

Oh, and this is my first post. Hello to all of you.

I've been in this game a hundred years, but I see new ways to lose I never knew existed before. - Casey Stengel

by Behrens on Aug 30, 2006 9:11 AM MDT reply actions

Welcome to the Row!

New commenters are always a happy thing for me.

Anyway, I never said you had to comment on Purple Row before the end of 2006 to be considered a true fan, so all the lurkers just breezing through every so often are safe, but I'd at least hope you'd know what my little site was.

by Rox Girl on Aug 30, 2006 11:00 AM MDT up reply actions

Some criteria...

If you know what the Homestand Flyer was and have multiple copies... you're bonafide.

If you participated in a "GO... ROCKIES!" chant across the stands at Mile High... you're bonafide.

If you know where the Vander Wall is located... you're bonafide.

If you survived the Craig House disappointment... you're bonafide.

Any others?

Die-hard Rockies fan. On the bandwagon since 4/2/93. Not giving up my seat. EVER.

by Franchise26 on Aug 30, 2006 10:44 AM MDT reply actions

Wow, you're harsh. I was hoping never to hear

of Craig House, and i actually cringe a little whenever I read about the former Pirates and current Astros farmhand with the same last name. In fact, grwoing up in the Northwest part of the state, there was an very dilapidated home in Craig that I named "Craig House" in his honor. It collapsed and has since been removed, fittingly.

by Rox Girl on Aug 30, 2006 11:06 AM MDT up reply actions

House

I remember everybody being so high on House because he could reach triple digits... too bad he didn't have a second pitch to go with it. Somewhere in my basement at home there's an old scorecard of mine, autographed by House himself. (I think it's also signed by another Rockies legend, Mike Porzio, though that might be a different scorecard.)

A few more I thought of in class today...

If you remember who platooned with Ellis Burks, you're bonafide.

If you know the significance of the song "Sledgehammer" by Peter Gabriel, you're bonafide.

If you believe that Dante Bichette was the 1995 NL MVP - defense, walk rate and OBP be damned - you're bonafide.

If seeing a picture of 'Leskanic's Leap' makes you feel all warm and fuzzy inside, you're bonafide.

Die-hard Rockies fan. On the bandwagon since 4/2/93. Not giving up my seat. EVER.

by Franchise26 on Aug 30, 2006 2:01 PM MDT up reply actions

Other Criteria

If you know who "Cardiac Curtis" was.

If you remember the name "David Nied".

If you remember that Brent Mayne's pitching record is 1-0 with an ERA of 0.00.

If you remember a check-swing grand slam.

I've been in this game a hundred years, but I see new ways to lose I never knew existed before. - Casey Stengel

by Behrens on Aug 30, 2006 11:03 AM MDT reply actions

check-swing granny

Bleeping Sid Bream. That was the exact moment when it clicked for most people on a national level that baseball at altitude was going to play a little different.

Die-hard Rockies fan. On the bandwagon since 4/2/93. Not giving up my seat. EVER.

by Franchise26 on Aug 30, 2006 2:01 PM MDT up reply actions

You know that Denver

is gonna be a huge bandwagon baseball town when we're good. I mean, just look to earlier this year when we were doing well and started drawing in 25+ again.

Anyhow, I'd like to offer a few more recent criteria for those of us who've just recently come into our prime as fans. Maybe these are too easy, let me know:

-You're the first one to bring out the 'Choooo' chants that by the end of the game start to rain down from the upper decks (maybe only applicable for the rest of this year)

-You invariably yell at Hurdle to have Matt Holliday bunt with men on base.

-You remember that guy who sat in the upper left field decks who would always yell, 'C'mon Dustin! (Mohr) You're on my fantasy team!'

-You know from that one time you got a free program who has the hariest knuckles on the team (Jamey Carroll)

-And the second-hariest (Jose Mesa)

Well there you go. I'm certainly proud to be a fan. But when the Rox finally make it big time, I hope I can still scalp tickets for less than face value...because seriously, in my 15 games this season, I only payed face value once...damn Cubs.

by potterhead4 on Aug 31, 2006 7:00 PM MDT reply actions