Keeping the wins up

[TXRangers]

We have won our first 2 games since the All-Star break, and today we are going for the sweep against the Blue Jays.

I took my nephews to the game last night. They had a blast they said after we left. My younger nephew seems to be more interested in the way the game is played, he was full of questions about why is it a foul ball?, who are the guys in the field with the black shirts?, why did he stop at 2nd base? It was fun explaining the game to him last night. Plus it was bobblehead give away night for the kids only, they got a Rangers mascot bobblehead. It was a very nice give away. And the mascots for like 10 other teams were there. They made the pregame very funny. They were messing around with the players, and made my nephews laugh alot.

So anyway, let's go Rangers and get a sweep to start off the second half!!!

Tex :fro:

[PopTop]

Howdy Joe :wave1: I've got a lot of great memories taking my two oldest nephews to games back in the early 80s on up to just the last few years ... It was an annual event to go to the Old-Timers Day games with both of them and my dad, but they haven't had an Old-Timers Day in Houston for a while now :( Thought this article was pretty cool, figured this was as good a place as any to post it. :cool:



Revivifying why sports makes life better
Randy Stevens / San Marcos Daily Record (http://www.sanmarcosrecord.com/articles/2004/07/15/sports/sports1.txt)

SAN MARCOS, TX., 15 JULY 2004 - - - After more than 18 years of chronicling sports, sometimes it's easy to forget the initial allure of the sporting world.

Originally, I got into sports journalism because there was no other way for me to be involved in the sports that I grew up loving to watch and participate in. I played football, baseball and golf in high school, but wasn't good enough in either sport to play at the collegiate level. Fortunately, I grew up with parents that were journalists, hence stabilizing my writing abilities at a very young age.

I recall my father, who was a photographer early in his career, taking me to many sporting events when I was young. I was fortunate enough to see Earl Campbell play high school football and hung out on the sidelines of East Texas State University football games where I befriended the late Harvey Martin. There's even a picture of me at the age of three on the shoulders of Dallas Cowboys quarterback Don Meredith when the team played its games in The Cotton Bowl.

I was also lucky enough to meet a number of Major League Baseball players at a young age. Back when the Texas Rangers played at Arlington Stadium, the press parking was in the same enclosed lot as the players. So when the game was over, and I waited in the parking lot while my father interviewed the players in the lockerroom, the players who left earlier than the others were usually more than happy to come over and sign autographs and visit.

Although those are great memories that I will always cherish, it occurred to me a couple of weeks ago that my father and I had never actually gone and watched a real game together. Of course, he took me to many of the games he had to work at, but that usually meant myself sitting with my mother or another supervising adult while my father did his work.

So on the first weekend of my two-week vacation, I had a plan. We would venture up to Arlington on a Sunday afternoon and watch the Texas Rangers host the Houston Astros. No media credentials, no special perks, just my father and myself watching a baseball game in the cheap seats.

It was the first time my father had ever been to Ameriquest Field (formerly called The Ballpark In Arlington), while I had made many trips to what I like to call "The Temple" before when I was a sports reporter working in the DFW area in the early 1990's. I explained to him that this was no Arlington Stadium he was about to enter, and when we pulled into the parking lot he soon understood. Compared to the old, the Rangers' newer stadium - which is now 10 years old - is bewildering at first sight.

Massive columns, impressive architecture, and the baseball-green steel framework combine to make the ballpark look like a stadium that was built in the 1940's instead of the 90's. It's also more than twice the size of the ladder.

"Wow, this thing is huge," my father remarked. "But it's not on the same spot as Arlington Stadium was, is it?"

"No, we're parked right were the old stadium used to be," I answered, explaining how the old stadium was leveled and turned into a parking lot.

I could sense a bit of remorse from my father after telling him that bit of information.

"That was an ugly stadium before, but I still miss it in some ways," my father said. "There was a lot of history in that old metal stadium."

I concurred. My father then relayed one of his favorite moments at Arlington Stadium.

"Remember that time I was coming out of the lockerroom and you were there with some of the other kids waiting to get autographs from the players? Some kid came up to me and said 'Mister, can you please sign my baseball?'"

My father did as the young kid asked, and signed his baseball in his own name. The kid ran back to his parents with a big smile, thinking he had just scored a big-league autograph.

"I remember it well," I told him.

"Somewhere there's a baseball on some trophy mantle with my name along with other real players," my father said. "I wonder if the kid ever figured out that I wasn't a real player?"

"I'm sure he did. Especially if he's a true baseball fan," I said. "Now let's get to the game."

At the game, it couldn't have been any better. It was warm, but not hot like it usually is in late June in Arlington. And our upper-deck seats were in the shade.

We sat down next to a family of six, who boasted that they had yet seen the Rangers lose this season. I told them I hoped we didn't spoil the streak since this was our first game of the season.

The kids were seated in front of the adults and enjoying all sorts of snacks and drinks that mom had brought to the game. One cool thing about going to a Texas Rangers' game, is that they do allow outside snacks and beverages inside.

But the most heartwarming sight was across the aisle. A father was sitting with his son, who obviously suffered from Down's Syndrome. The boy was wearing a jersey of his favorite player, Mark Texeria, and was overjoyed each time his favorite player was announced.

"Taaaaah Sherrrr Aaaaaaaa," the boy would yell at the top of his lungs as his father wore a smile of humility and joy. "Go Taaaaah Sherrrrrrrr Aaaaaaa!"

The boy then sat back and watched his diamond hero go to work. Texeria came through with a hit, making the boy's day.

"Way to go Taaaaah Sherrrr Aaaaaaaa! That's my man!"

My father looked at me said exactly what I was thinking.

"That's priceless," my father said.

Invaluable for many reasons, I thought. Certainly, there was the father-son connection effectuated, but what was even more beautiful was that for one moment, the pair was able to forget about the affliction the boy suffers from and enjoy an escape.

That's when it hit me like a foul ball off a bat. For the past 18 years, sports has been a job for me, a mere paycheck at the end of the week or month. Of course I love what I do, but when you see and cover sporting events almost every day, it's easy to lose grip on why sports is so important for us sports fans.

Sports is an escape. When you are at a game, all other worries and cares are pushed to the back of the mind as you concentrate on the here and now.

Yes, it can be upsetting when the team you like falters. But it still provides an escape from the everyday routine.

The Rangers lost that game to the Astros, 1-0, but the young man and his father left with smiles on their faces. The same could be said for my father and myself.

No, sports isn't a necessity in life. But it sure does make life a lot better.

[TXRangers]

Yeah we jsut keep finding ways to get it done down here in Texas. Great pitching last night. Just no good hitting until late last night for us. Young tore up Rodriguez down the Left field line. What a great hit.

Rangers won 3-2.

Tex :fro: