Mine Are The Boys Of Summer

This year, I fell in love with baseball. I don't know how it happened. I've always been a fan of taking myself out with the crowd, but it wasn't until this season that the old ballgame became a really special place for me.

Having spent my formative years in Wyoming, I was never really able to say I was a fan of this team or that team with any true conviction. To top it off, nobody in my family had or has more than a passing interest in baseball, so my metamorphosis into a fan of any team in this sport was improbable at best.

When I was in college, I spent a fair amount of time traveling to and from Denver. Virtually every concert event, shopping trip or big day out required me to enter the Colorado quadrilateral. Oftentimes, these events would lead to my attending the odd Rockies game. Of these times spent in Coors Field, I have trouble recalling anything short of hot dogs, beer and sunburns.

I moved to Denver in November of 2007 and had plenty to look forward to for my first Colorado summer. A significant portion of my excitement was due to the fact that I could now attend any number of baseball games with little or no planning whatsoever. The $5 Rock Pile tickets were at my fingertips and I settled on the lofty goal of making it to twenty games in the 2008 season. Sadly, I only made it to nine games total. Similarly, of those nine games attended, I'm wont to recall any significant details.

I took the day off on opening day this year and, while I couldn't get tickets for the game, I made my way downtown with some friends to revel in the festivities. After drinking two "Bear Fights" each, we rode the train to LoDo and made merry well into the night. After much drunken discussion, Feaster and I decided to set a goal of seeing ten games live at Coors Field. Having put my goal in the realm of the realistic, I was certain I could make good on it. As of August 21, I have been to my ten games and have tickets to see one more in late September along with the possibility of attending tonight's game against the division leading Dodgers. A large pat on the back for yours truly.

Along with having met my goal, I've been tuning in to watch the Rock Show on telly. I've kept close track of their efforts over the course of the season and have learned a lot about the game thanks to my latest roommate, Beantown Brian (I'll let you guess who he supports, at least in the AL).

The point of this post isn't so much that I'm a Rockies fan, but rather that I'm pleased to finally have a team that I support on my own terms. Now, when someone asks who my team is, I'll be able to say the Rockies without missing a beat. I've had some awesome times at the ballpark this year and can confidently recall more than the number of beers and hot dogs I consumed at any given game. The vivid green of the field, the smell of every junk food imaginable, the crack of the bats and the roar of the crowd have made the Old Ballgame a magical place for this new fan.