FanPost

Why I'm a Rockies Fan From 1,500 Miles Away

Why am I a Rockies fan? I get asked that all the time, and to be honest, I ask myself that question, too (especially during those 10:10 start times for the west coast games)! Living south of Atlanta, I have absolutely no connections to Denver whatsoever, unlike many of you who have posted. I chose and adopted this team with my own free will, which may make me the most insane person on this thread! I grew up in Indianapolis as a big Reds fan, as we had their Triple A team (and later Montreal‘s). My family would go to Indianapolis Indians games frequently, and it just kind of became what we did for fun - cheap, wholesome entertainment, and the players were accessible and friendly. I took great delight when the guys made it to the Reds, as if my rooting for them somehow helped them excel. And yes, I do remember when Andres Galarraga was the Triple A ROY in Indy (1985, perhaps?). I spent many afternoons and evenings listening to Joe Nuxhall and Marty Brennaman on the radio, and knew all the players and stats for the Reds. It was a great hobby and I have many fond memories of baseball as a little girl. Fast forward several years to after college, when I moved down to Georgia. I did the obligatory Braves fandom, as who could resist Maddux, Glavine and Smoltz in the mid-90’s? I still loved baseball and was able to watch every single game on TBS. But then, I suddenly stopped baseball altogether (long story), and it was as if baseball and I broke up. I did not watch an inning, read a box score or go to a game for almost ten years. I shut out baseball and refused to allow myself to miss it. In early 2011, I decided that I was ready to give baseball another try. It was time. I had a 6 year old daughter, and wanted her to experience some of the magic that I had felt when I was her age. The question was, what team would I choose? It couldn’t be the Braves - too close to my past passion. Any of the other 29 teams were on the table (except for maybe the Yankees). So I researched baseball teams for a few weeks. I had lots of criteria, and believe it or not, I narrowed it down to our Colorado Rockies. I sure know how to pick ‘em, right? I know this won’t make me popular in some circles, but my defining reason for choosing to be a Rockies fan was their players’ strong sense of character. I knew that I had a young daughter and that I would be bringing this game and these players into my household and our lives. We would be buying their jerseys and cheering for them at games, and I wanted her to have some good, quality heroes in her life. The Bob Nightengale article impressed me, as well as the feel-good stories on various players. Also, the Rockies were coming off a pretty good past few seasons, and all the experts were predicting a solid 2011, so I figured I had a winner. I had no idea how to pronounce Tulowitzki until March of that year, but was able to read up on the Rockies’ history, and my husband even found a DVD of the 2007 World Series in a bargain bin at Best Buy, so I’ve worked hard to learn about the team. I rely on Purple Row and recently the Purple Dinosaur Podcast guys to keep me up to speed. Since I do not know a single Rockies fan personally, I really appreciate twitter, where I feel like I’m watching games with other people who are just as frustrated as I am. I’m not as baseball-smart as some of you, but I am a consistent fan, and trying to broaden my baseball knowledge! I wish the Rockies won more games. I wish they’d finally assemble a decent bullpen. I wish they’d clean house in the front office. I wish desperately that they’d make it to the post-season again. But I’m also madly in love with this team. I love that Matt Belisle stands respectfully long after the national anthem until our flag leaves the field. I love that Corey Dickerson tweets out Bible verses. I love that Charlie Blackmon signs autographs before every game. I love that Troy arranges for ill children to come to spring training games. I love that these are guys that we can root for. As a mother of a now ten year old, there’s way too many bad influences in sports, and the fact that I can show my daughter some good, morally-sound athletes is important to me. Every morning I recap the game from the night before for her, and we both hit our heads against the breakfast table, but we use that as a learning lesson - brush yourself off and go out there and try again. It’s hard explaining how they play so badly, but I’d rather go that route than have to explain about PED suspensions, pitchers throwing at batters out of revenge, or foul language. The Rockies really have put together a strong group of role models, and that means a lot to me as a mother and as a fan. We’ve gone to almost every Rockies game in Atlanta since 2011, and of course had never seen them win. My husband dreads those games because he knows that I will be distraught for days. This year, we actually saw them win, and we went nuts in the stands. We were more excited than the players! A smart-aleck kid behind us sneered that it was only one game, but to us, it was Game 7 of the World Series. The fact that wins are so far and few between make them that much sweeter. This past summer, we finally made it out to Denver and were able to see three games. The stadium is gorgeous, and we did all the first-timer things: we met Dinger, we ate a Helton Burger, we took pictures from The Rooftop (I much rather would‘ve had a good starting pitcher, but I will say that the view from up there was pretty incredible). At our first game, I spent most of the first few innings with a huge lump in my throat, trying not to let my emotions get the best of me. This was MY team, and these were MY guys, and the fact that they won that day, made me feel like our cheering was somehow responsible for that win. Seeing baseball through my daughter’s eyes brought me back to my days of being an innocent kid watching games, and I love that I can pass that feeling on to her with this team. And that’s why I am a Rockies fan.

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]).