FanPost

An Open letter to Dick Monfort. What it means to be Rockies Fan

The recent "fiasco" that started on Rockies Review urging fans to write Rockies corporate sponsors asking them to dissolve their relations with the team has stirred a narrative from myself as to what this team means to the average Rockies fan. So this is an open letter to you Dick Monfort, Charlie Monfort, Bill Geivett, and any others who fell that they have a grasp on what running this team means to the outside world.

April 5, 1993, I was still a young boy in elementary school and the Rockies had their first home game in their history. I was in the 2nd grade, our teacher pulled everyone out of class into the library where they rolled out an old tv, you know the kind with the knobs to turn to change the channel. We sat in silent awe as we watched the Rockies first ever home game and win. I remember seeing Eric Young steal second base and pull the base off the field, I remember seeing EY of all people hit a home run in his first AB of the game over the wall with the plexiglass window at Mile High Stadium.

I remember in 1994 going to a game at Mile High Stadium when Charlie Hayes hit a HR to Left Field and celebrating, seeing and feeling the stadium rock. The fans shook the stadium to a HR, something they still barely knew what it was. It was then in 1995 the tax payers agreed to pay for a baseball only stadium. Coors Field became one of the most attractive stadiums in the major leagues and fans sold out the stadium for years to come. They watched the likes of Dante Bichette, Andres Galarraga, Ellis Burks, Vinny Castilla, Larry Walker hit home run after home run. We loved this team as much as we loved the Denver Broncos.

2007 - We waited forever, and we supported and cheered forever and were rewarded. 2007 the year of Rocktober. I will never ever forget that fall for multiple reasons. I had that summer joined the military and was due to leave in December. I remember I was working at Red Robin Burgers on Havana St. in Aurora, when every day me and Dane (another waiter) would look at the tv almost hourly when the Rockies won 14 of their last 15 to climb back into the race for a wild card spot and finally tie for a wild card playoff with the Padres.

No moment in my life whether it be getting married, coming with100 yards of a rocket in Iraq hitting the spot where I was, will compare to the emotion that I experienced the night the Rockies played the Padres in the 163rd game of the season in 2007. I was at Gibby's sports bar on Havana st. when I went next door to get cigarettes as the top of the 13th came around. When I returned it was 8-6 Padres and the invincible Trevor Hoffman was heading to the mound. Then the unthinkable happened. Double, Double, Triple... that bar might as well have exploded and burned to the ground because the reaction was straight insanity. Then Holliday scored on a line drive to right field... you couldn't get anyone to leave that party even if their house was burning to the ground.

2007 NLCS vs. Dbacks : As I mentioned earlier I was getting ready to leave for the military but a friend of mine, last minute, contacted me offering as a going away present, Rockpile tickets to game 4 of the NLCS against the Dbags. We sat in the 8th row of the Rockpile as the game started.. after pregraming at Jacksons across the street. I remember Matt Holliday's 3 run HR landing 80 ft in front of me but feeling like it was 10 feet away. The biggest moment though came went hated Josh Byrnes came to the plate with 2 out in the top of the 9th inning an fittingly grounded out to Rookie SS Troy Tulowitkzki to Legendary 1B Todd Helton to complete the sweep and send the Rockies to their first World Series.

Beyond that world series while it was amazing to be there I have had nothing but faith in this team. Coming into this season in 2014 I had higher hopes that I did at the end of 2007. We have absolutely been hit by a number of injuries yes but this team has had it's head in the clouds since 2007. We made it a world series which is fantastic but we are not yet a team that can expect that result year in and year out.

We have been reluctant to make moves because players are popular with the locals, or because we are afraid to lose day to day numbers in attendance.....

Denver has ALWAYS been an amazing sports town, we suffered through 5 super bowl defeats before securing our first in 1997 and the Broncos never skipped a beat in attendance. The Rockies record of sold out home performances shows what Colorado fans are like, while trading fan favorites might be tough, they will return. Denver fans are amazing and stick to their TEAMS not the players. I love our Rockies team, I love Cargo, I love Tulo. But if it helps us win the long run.. trade them! We as a public fanbase will find a new hero.

If you are afraid to do that think of this. When it comes to the Blake Street Bomber years who do I remember most? John Vander Wal, he always seemed to have that clutch hit when it was most needed. To me he was the definition of Coors Field Magic.

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]).

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