October 16, 2007
Rock N(CLS) Roll Part 2Posted by Bryan
Our friend Sandy has wondered (in the previous post's comments) why I have not yet commented on Rocktober, or for the uninitiated, the historic run of the Colorado Rockies that is sweeping them into the World Series for the first time in the team's fifteen year history.
Well, I just haven't had time to do so until now.
Please forgive the Gary Glitter reference of the title, but it has just sort of worked out this way. After several minutes of writing, I've seen that I need to break this into two parts, with the second part coming first.
Because that's the way I roll.
Long story short (because the long story still comes next)...I am thrilled beyond words. This excellent article from ESPN.com captures much of the joy and amazement of the moment for us Rockies fans.
In part 1 of this soliloquy, I share my early history as a Rockies fan. But here, let me say that for the last seven or eight years, my fandemonium has been muted. I've been separated by distance, having lived in both Georgia and Texas. The dismal performance of the team has certainly contributed to the subdued followship. I had resigned myself to the reality that the Rockies would be the Chicago Cubs of the Mountain Time Zone, without any of that middling level of success to bring us fans false hope from season to season. I was convinced that the owners did not care about product, that the GM did not know what he was doing, and that the players were just "doing time." I never thought we'd be able to get pitching, and that we would never be able to keep talent.
That being said, I was still a fan. I still checked where the Rockies were in the standings (or how far down they were). I still shook my head with every defeat, but I still made an effort to catch a game when they were in one of my towns, or stop and watch for a while when they were on Television. I just had accepted that my team would be mediocre (at best) and that other things were more important.
Well, other things are still more important, but when we caught the Rockies game against the Dodgers this past summer, I saw that something was different. This was a team with enthusiasm and with a will to win. They took the mystery out of the game we were watching, starting off with back-to-back three-run innings, and following it up with a two-spot. But I was reminded of the effort and the naive optimism that existed in the team's first days. We did not recognize the names Holliday, Hawpe, and Tulowitski. We laughed at the catcher's name Yorvit, I think just because Cotter confused it with Norbit, the Eddie Murphy movie, and asked if he was the same guy. And maybe it was because Holliday handed Cotter a foul ball from the game, but whatever the reason, our own excitement was reignited.
So for the past several days, we have been staying up too late, bleary-eyed and exhausted, just to see if our team might, possibly, continue this improbable run. And they have.
What I thought I would never see is now reality. The Rockies are in the World Series. I giggle slightly even as I type it. I confess to being lured by my old proclivities of doubt...will this week off hurt them? Can they match up with either the BoSox or the Indians? Will the pitching hold?
But the fan's answers come quickly.
No, yes, yes.
The Rockies can win the World Series.
The Colorado Rockies.
And we with the Lone Star locality will have a Mile High mentality.
We'll be cheering from 750 miles away, deep in the heart of Texas, as the Rockies complete the task and finish this story for the ages with an exclamation mark!
October 16, 2007 11:58 AM | TrackBack