FanPost

Rocktober, via Squeaky

I don't have the gift of gorgeous prose like my sister Silverblood does, so this will be fairly short, but hopefully get the point across.

My Rocktober experience began in April. Rocktober without the season would have been awesome, but for me, it just would have been cool, not the amazing wonderful Rockies extravaganza that it was. I was present at 15 games last season, caught in between my junior and senior years of high school. It's a good place to be, finished with the stress of junior year and not having to deal with the idea of leaving for college yet. I knew my senior year would be easy, so I could just enjoy the summer...and attend a ton of baseball games, since I wasn't yet pinching every penny. But anyway.

First there was opening day, with the start of the "Baseball is Back!!!" sign tradition. It was a huge hit and I was in the Rockies Magazine. That magazine came with me to every game during the regular season, and every game I was down by the first base line. I finished the year with 11 autographs, including Tulo, Todd, and a slew of my other favorites. (What happened to the magazine this year is another story and should be left alone). Then photo day occurred, which was a really fun, casual, and relaxed time to meet and greet the guys, without the push of too many people. Then there was the fourth of July, which featured a sneaky dash past the usher into section 148 to get on the field for the show. There was a crazy mad ninth inning rally on Silverblood's birthday when we were there, and then another crazy rally when Todd hit the game winning HR off Saito. I know I was at that game, but I have to admit I don't remember a lot about it.

I have the ticket to prove I was at the Saturday, September 29th game, but I can't for the life of me remember it. I know I went with my older sister Darcy, because Silverblood was already at college. I think it was exciting and loud and all that. I was a little upset because of the night previous, and I'm fairly sure Tulo hit his grand slam then, which I thought was awesome especially for the curtain call afterwards.

See, I don't remember events about Rocktober, and you'll notice this as we go on in this story. The only game I remember clearly is the tiebreaker, but everything else is just impressions. I remember feelings. I remember the noise, and that the most amazing thing in the world is 50,000 people yelling 'YEAH!" at the exact same time. I remember how excited Denver was about the Rockies and how awesome I thought it was, especially since I clearly remember freezing in an empty third deck some chilly night earlier in the season. I remember reading the paper, and reading "Rocktober" on my calculus 3 test because my teacher was a Rockies fan.

I was in rehearsal the last day of the season, but I remember being really anxious about the Rockies and checking my cell phone at every break possible to see if Silverblood had sent any updates. I knew the Padres were winning, and I thought that was it, but later discovered they'd lost. It was the bottom of the eighth when I got out of rehearsal. Driving home, I didn't think I was going to listen to the game until I heard someone else listening to it with their window open, so I was curious and turned it on, dying with every pitch Manny threw in the ninth.

As soon as I got home I wanted to know what the deal was for tickets the next day, and I sent my family out to check at the King Soopers- but they were sold out. So I got on the website, and was placed on the online equivalent of hold. I opened the web and forgot about it until I suddenly noticed that I wasn't on hold anymore. What followed after was a mad dash to enter all the info so I could get the tickets before they expired. And then, I had two tickets, for me and my friend Betsy (who posts on this site). In the very top row of the stadium, third base side.

And let me tell you, they were so very worth it. The game was ridiculously nerve wracking and tense, with plenty of reasons to sit down, shut up, and put your head down, and more reasons to stand up and scream. Everyone was into the game from the very first pitch, which was amazing. There's nothing like that feeling, to know that everyone's paying attention and is cheering their lungs out for the Rockies. I remember screaming and dancing, and of course sitting down, completely silent, when the ball went over the fence in the thirteenth inning.

But then we all know what happened, and I just remember high fiving complete strangers, jumping around, and wondering why Matt wasn't getting up. I didn't want to leave. It hadn't really set in yet, we were going to the playoffs.

I watched the next two games in pieces. I was in class at a community college during most of them, but when I had breaks, I plopped down in front of the TV in the lobby, playing the game of course, and watched. I wasn't too worried, at least I don't remember being, and it was just like riding the wave.

My last game of the season was game 3 of the NLDS. I don't remember a ton about the game itself. I remember we got the rally towels and it was just as loud and exciting as before. I think the game was really tight but I don't remember being tense. I remember being confident - whether I actually was is another question. I remember that once the Rockies went ahead the stadium went mad, and it was a simple thing to seal the deal, and we were going to the championship series. We stayed awhile to watch the celebration, and I just remember being completely and totally happy.

The rest of the story you all know. I didn't go the NLCS for financial and technical reasons, but I watched all of them on TV and jumped around and screamed with the best of them. The last great day of Rocktober was when we won the pennant, and then Rocktober magic kind of petered out. You all know what happened.

Rocktober was just a ridiculously exciting time in my life for many reasons, and that summer was one of the best I've had...maybe the best. Rocktober was just an amazing conclusion to such a summer. There will never be anything like it, and unfortunately everything will be compared to it, but it was just incredible. I have a hard time describing it because it wasn't specific. For me at least, it was rush of emotion and impressions and excitement, best remembered in  my head and hard to detail.

Go Rockies. Thanks for all that. And please, let's have a better '09 season.

 

Eat. Drink. Be Merry. But the above FanPost does not necessarily reflect the attitudes, opinions, or views of Purple Row's staff (unless, of course, it's written by the staff [and even then, it still might not]).