Despite a rough start to the season, hope springs eternal. Coors Field will once again be open for business today. That business is the business of baseball. For one guaranteed day, LoDo will be draped in banners and surrounded by a circuslike atmosphere as the city of Denver comes to life. Surrounding the 20th and Blake block will be radio stations, local businesses, food trucks, peanut vendors, and every bar in the neighborhood will likely have its doors wide open to welcome merrymakers.

Yes, my friends, today is Opening Day in Denver, Colorado. The long winter is over, finally, and we begin 6 glorious months of this country's National Pastime.

Personally, I haven't missed an Opening Day since 2005. Not a phenomenal streak, but to me, this is like Christmas. This is like my birthday. This is pretty much the awesomest day of the entire year, when we can return to Coors Field to watch the Colorado Rockies play baseball.

OK, frutiness aside, what are your favorite parts of Opening Day? Do you have any specific traditions that surround the day? Do you find a local tavern to wait at until first pitch? Or do you sleep in until the last minute and find your way into the park?

How many first timers do we have? If you've never been to Coors Field before, be sure to check out the Coors Field Insider series for some insider tips on how to have the best possible time at the ballpark.

Off Topic

Rockies to limit innings for Pomeranz | ColoradoRockies.com: News
Rockies left-hander pitcher Drew Pomeranz is scheduled to pitch for Double-A Tulsa at Corpus Christi on Tuesday night. While there's not a specific number on Pomeranz' inning load, the Rockies plan on skipping starts regularly for the young lefty.

Jhoulys Chacin eager to build on positives from 2011 | ColoradoRockies.com: News
The bandwagon for Rockies right-hander Jhoulys Chacin hit a speed bump just before last year's All-Star break. The problem, the way Chacin describes it, was he tried to make major repairs when none were necessary.

Barry Zito raring to go against Rockies
Sounds like we WON'T be seeing Buster Posey in the lineup on Opening Day, as Bruce Bochy is opting to rest his catcher. You know, instead of at the same time as like half of his lineup.

San Francisco Giants at Colorado Rockies - April 9, 2012 | MLB.com Preview
Jumping on Zito early will definitely be a smart idea today. Do NOT let this man get into a groove.

That said, a lineup that strikes out less is hopefully going to make Zito work more and expose his weak ass stuff (meat).

Rockies strive to ease ticket chaos for first home game - The Denver Post
Changes in the sales of Rockpile tickets for the Colorado Rockies home opener Monday enticed thousands of people to huddle outside Coors Field on Saturday morning. Rather than let Scalpers run rampant, the Rockies opted for a 4-ticket-maximum lottery system. Seemed to work out fine.

And finally, our Opening Day present to you.