Hello everyone! I am an avid baseball enthusiast myself; I am definitely not a great fan, but I surely love the sport, its history and heritage. I started enjoying it when I lived in Canada for several years, but after leaving and settling in Europe, I started following three teams casually at the same time: The White Sox, The Giants and The Rockies. The Blue Jays have great sentimental value for me, especially this year, but I do not follow them diligently.
When I started following the Rockies, I picked them because they seemed (and are) the underdogs of underdogs, a team so sincerely bad that it is even a little funny. It reminded me of the history of the St. Louis Browns, a team so terrible that the Orioles reportedly burned everything related to the old name after the team moved to Baltimore. Yet there are plenty of documentaries about it, plenty of old-timers in St. Louis remember it with gentle love and melancholy, there is a fan club, people collect memorabilia, etc.. However, the team was famous for its losing streaks. That is something that made me interested in the Rockies. It is bad, but it is a team of lovable losers, a team that has it terribly bad, but still makes it through struggling terribly, but still trying. I saw even more parallels when I watched this documentary about the foundation of the Rockies and how Coloradans were fond of MLB expansion and are still happy to have a major league team despite its record, which puts the Rockies very close to the Browns of the 21st century.
Yet, I wanted to ask about your experience with the team. What keeps you invested in the Rockies despite their challenges, and what hopes or concerns do you have for their future? Do you worry about relocation (following the steps of the A’s and the Expos) or ownership changes, or do you see something else on the horizon?
30 comments
Home town team. I hate the ownership as much as anyone else but I’m loyal to my roots. Not to mention I think it is one of the best parks in baseball, plus tickets are usually cheap. Though I don’t believe the fan base is nearly as strong as others (for good reasons), I try to do my part!
I’ve lived in Denver or the surrounding areas my whole life, and some of my fondest memories are of going to Rockies games as a kid, dating back to the Mile High Stadium days. If I could give them up, I would.
I’ve been a Rockies fan since day one, back when they were first announced as an expansion team. I remember following the expansion draft when they picked up David Nied, the excitement of spring training in Tucson, and watching that first game against Brett Saberhagen and the Mets when Dante Bichette hit the franchise’s first home run. But my fandom really took off during the home opener when Eric Young led off with a homer.
The Blake Street Bombers in the ’90s were something special, and seeing them reach the playoffs in 1995 was unforgettable. Then the Rocktober run in 2007 was pure magic. I actually saw Tulo’s first home run in person, and I’m pretty sure I was one of Senzatela’s earliest fans. We even swapped phone numbers when he was still in the minors.
I’ve traveled across the country to watch this team and proudly worn their colors into Cubs, Yankees, and Dodgers territory. Hopefully, I’ll get the chance to represent them again when they make another World Series.
Hope! Usually by the third series of the season the hope is dashed and realization of another bummer year. As the year progresses I tend to watch to see who is coming up and making a brief name for themself. The future here is solid, the park is a great bar to hang out at in the summer! My buddy wants the Kronkes to buy the team… so give that a whirl. Would be great to see some motivation to win and money spent to accomplish this. Haha… as I’m writing this I then get into the lore of Coors Field, it’s kinda like the ghosts of the old mile high that brought the mile high magic, or the terrible sound and tight hallways of Big Mac
Similar answer: Saw them in Mile High days and was a kid through the 90’s teams with Walker, Big Cat, Castillo, Bichette. Now I can bring my kids and share that same feeling with them (albeit a cruddier team)
Colorado native. I was ecstatic when we got the Rockies. Will always support the team. Monfort sucks.
Tickets are cheap
Because they get no media coverage, that’s genuinely it, I’m a Jets fan so I’d prefer no media coverage over every sports show
Grew up in Montana which is one of only 2 states (along with Maine) that doesn’t even border a state with pro sports teams. So it’s a choose your own adventure. Though I was a Mariners fan growing up (first game I ever went to) I moved to Colorado in 2011 and easily adopted all the teams with it.
They are all my ride or die no matter the ownership, no matter the season or quality of play.
Nothing beats Coors on a summer day and nothing beats live baseball (though avs games are close).
I’ll be a Rocky until the day I die.
I moved to Colorado on 2018. Was never a big baseball fan prior to that, but had a friend from PA where I used to live come out to visit and he wanted to go to a ball game, so we did (got absolutely shellacked by the cubs at that game and I viewed to never go to another cubs @ rockies game).
But I payed attention to baseball and the Rockies were half decent that year and absolutely fell in love with baseball watching the Rockies. That doesn’t just go away.
When they traded away Arenado on that awful trade to STL I decided the rockies couldn’t be my primary team…I didn’t have that much history with them and it was obvious they weren’t even really trying to get better. So the Rockies became my secondary team who I basically still root for and follow, I just have no hope or expectation of them doing well.
My grandpa was from Missouri and a big cardinals fan and I remember watching games with him before he passed, and Arenado was my favorite player so i ended up becoming a Cardinals fan as my primary team. They suck now too…but what can you do about it? Maybe I’m just destined to like bad baseball teams.
I was 9 when they were born. I brought them into this world, and I can take them out.
It’s nostalgia for me. As a kid then teen I used to come out to Colorado to visit my grandpa and uncles every summer. We would always catch a game and that has stuck with me.
Worked for the original owner and was sow excited when we got a team. Love baseball. Always have always will.
Hope springs eternal for baseball my friend. As someone who grew up in Denver, going to Rockies games for Elementary school field trips to being a fully grown adult cheering for the team, I am a fan for life. Their image lately is definitely that of an inept franchise but we’ve had success too like the magical 07 Rocktober run and the years in 17 and 18 when we were a few innings away from taking the division from the Dodgers. You get so attached to the players too: Nolan, Chuck, Cargo, Tulo, Trevor, and Rymac without even mentioning other lesser known players like David Dahl or Tony Wolters.
In short I’m a Rockies fan despite everything because Denver is my home and for better or for worse the Rockies are my team. Also FTD
Grew up with the team, believe that the team you grew up with is your team for life, just wish we had a better team…
When this team is stringing wins together and competitive in August and September, it’s fucking magical. Coors Field is electric, and it starts to fill up with actual Rockies fans again. I don’t know if I’ve ever experienced anything in sports quite like Rocktober.
Why am I still a fan? Because when (if?) Rocktober comes back around, I’ll want to remember what it felt like to see my favorite team lose 119 games, watch it grow into a contender again, and see people pack Coors Field wearing Rockies gear consistently. I am never going to take another Rocktober for granted.
As so many have already said, home town team. I was the perfect age at the time to absorb both the Rockies and the Avalanche, and was an original member of the Rockies Rookies Fan Club…just came to love baseball and with it, my Rockies. Living in AZ now I’ve tried to latch on to the Diamondbacks but it feels dirty to me lol.
Of course they’re the “home team” and having grown up here I want them to be successful. IT CAN BE DONE. I think with a thoughtful process and a modernization of the front office, scouting and player health and development they can build a team that can overcome the challenges. I think they’ll spend, it’s just HOW they spend that’s tripped them up. Pitching is a problem for every team, we’re no different. Build up a potent hitting lineup, play great defense and just be competitive. Colorado is a baseball loving place I’m optimistic
They’re my team no matter what. Same goes for the Broncos, Avs and Nuggets. I’m a Colorado native and those are my teams I grew up watching. Part of being a fan is sticking with your teams through the bad times as well as the good times. I would never be able to honestly cheer for another team and feel the same excitement that I feel when Rocktober comes around.
Yeah there have been lots of bad days as a Rockies fan, but man when the day comes that we finally win a World Series, that will be one of the best days of my life and it will all be worth it. Even experiencing Stanley cups, super bowls and the finals wins that we have had, nothing compares to the excitement I had in 2007 during our run to the World Series. Baseball holds a special place in my heart and the Rockies are a part of that.
Why am a Rockies fan? They are the home team. Going to games at Coors Field on a perfect summer evening is still the best. It’s a great stadium. They are a part of the city.
And there is time. I have followed them for so long they are a part of me and part of my world and part of the turning of the year. After the 2007 run which was easily my favorite sports experience of my life….. I’m a Rockies fan.
I follow other teams especially the Cardinals but I’m really a Rockies fan first.
As for your question about fear of relocation
.. No… Zero worries on that front. Coors is a great stadium, even after all these years. The A’s and the Rays are almost homeless. (I’ll believe that they have new stadiums when I see them go up). The White Sox and Diamondbacks want new stadiums and both have rattled the saber of moving. Throw in two expansion franchises, that’s 6 teams that need cities to build them a stadium and it’s getting harder to convince cities to spend tax money for billionaires’ stadiums and Denver has a great stadium already. (Kansas City also wants a new stadium but they don’t look like they will leave the KC area)
If Cleveland Browns fans can do it. So can I.
Mostly due to sunk cost fallacy. I’ve been a fan since 93. I’ve invested a lot of heart and soul into this team over the years. Also they’re my hometown team. Also, I’m too lazy to switch teams. Also, FTD.
Your write up pretty much described it for me. Lovable losers. I honestly love watching to team play hard and fall so short. It makes the winning seasons that much sweeter.
When a team picks me (or I pick them) that’s it. There’s no turning back. No drifting away. No shifting to glory teams.
I’ve been a Sheffield Wednesday fan since my first game in 1982. For such a huge, storied club, I ended up with one of their worst 40 odd year runs in their almost 160 year history. But I still bleed blue and white.
The same with my Rice Owls.
The same with my Rockies.
Charlie Blackmon got me back into baseball around 10 years ago. I’m definitely fair weather but I’ve been to a few games when I have visited Denver and that kinda cemented it. Also, I’m from Buffalo, NY. Lovable Loser kinda runs in my blood
Came to Colorado from the joining the Army, met my wife here and ended up staying here after I got out. They reminded me of why I loved the San Antonio Spurs so much. Small market, passionate fans and lovable players.
I was born and forced into this. I didn’t ask for it.
Born and raised in Colorado. Third generation Coloradan. The Rockies were our first pro baseball team. I remember opening year. I remember when Coors field opened. I’ll always be a fan. I’ll forever be disappointed. But you root for your team all the time. Not just when they’re good. I’m not a fair weather fan. I’m a forever fan.
I love them because I love baseball and dream of watching my own team in the world series in my own city. There’s been a lot of good memories but unfortunately most years have been hard to watch. The owner need to know that if they put a winning team on the field just like the broncos did that the whole region not just Colorado will travel to support them this isn’t the small market they think it is . Look at sales on the five teams when the put out teams that were competitive
I wouldn’t say I’m invested anymore. If they ever show signs of hope again I’ll be happy to come back but as it is I don’t think I’ve watched a single full game since the Nolan trade.