The Boys Of Summer

The Texas Rangers are stressin' me out.

The fifth game of the World Series was a nail biter.  Even Ellie May was on the edge of her seat.

The first three innings they acted like Uncle Nolan had taken out the concession on Crisco.

Fortunately they got it together before it was too late.

I am not a sports nut.  Can't stand football or basketball.  Can't see the golf ball, so no appreciation there.  Don't understand most of the other things folks consider sport. 

But i love baseball.

The first game i really remember going to was a KC Royals / Minnesota Twins double header in the early seventies.  My momma took me with her to the game, while my dad took my brothers to Worlds of Fun, an amusement park in KC.  I always thought that was kinda strange.  But the experience did cement my love of the game. 

And pretzels. 

At that time, the ballpark was about the only place you could get good pretzels.  Now every mall has an Auntie Annes.  But at the time, pretzels at the park were a big deal. 

I remember we won one game, and lost one game.  I remember being enthralled by Cookie Rojas.  Don't remember why now, maybe it was the slogan for the hair dressing commercial with the girls singing, "Cookie, Cookie, won't you lend me your comb?"  Anyway, i remember watching him play.  And i remember that mom and i had a pretzel during the first game, and then during the second game, she said, "Let's have another pretzel...but don't tell your dad."  Not only did we share the love of the game, but we shared the bond of a sinful secret (tee hee.)

When i was older and still single, one of my few entertainment extravagances was to go to three or four Texas Rangers games a year (the other big one was movie weekends...i would start with the early show Friday nite, then cram in as many movies as i could until the late Sunday show.)  This was back when they were playing at Arlington Stadium, and the park would resound with the sound of stomping feet during the tense moments.  I must say, The Ballpark at Arlington is a beautiful structure, and a fine tribute to the sport.  But sadly, once it opened up, i couldn't afford to go to that many games anymore.  And it WAS way more fun when everyone was stomping and doing The Wave...folks don't do that at The Ballpark as it is a bit more of a refined venue.  If you dribbled your mustard at The Stadium, you just kept on cheering.  When you dribble your mustard at The Ballpark, you run to the bathroom to get the stain out.

I saw Nolan Ryan pitch a shut out one time--very, very exciting game--and i loved watching Pudge behind the plate, and JUAN GONE--Zal-es hitting.  And then there was Will Clark.  Mr. Baseball.  What a good guy.  I respected his sportsmanship and abilities on the field as well as in the clubhouse. 

In the late nineties, i lost faith in the team management, and then when they rookie-doo'ed Will Clark, i boycotted the team permanently.

Okay, not permanently.   But for the record, i STILL haven't forgiven the stRangers for the way they treated Will.

When they made The Series last year, we watched every game.  Spent a fortune at the local pub to do it.  But history was being made!

Lo and Behold, last year wasn't a fluke!  Uncle Nolan and The Whippersnapper have done it again!  So we are doing the same thing again this time around.  Only it is better, because this time Ellie May and Jethro are into it too, and we have had some great family time watching these games. 

Almost makes me wish we had TV so i could catch a game now and then.

Naaahhhhh.  Never Mind.  Not worth it.  I'll just have to be a fair weather fan for a little while longer.

The Rangers better wrap this thing up tomorrow night, though.  I have plans for Thursday.