Nick Ann Street

It sure was fun to watch the Rockies sweep the Diamondbacks. Not that I actually stayed up for the end of the game last night, but I did catch the highlights this morning. Seriously Major League Baseball, some of us east of the  Missouri have to get up before noon. Either start the games a little earlier or a few hours later. At least then I could watch the ninth inning while enjoying my morning pop tart (Yes, they now have organic pop tarts. Joy)

The best part of watching last night’s game, the first three innings anyway, was listening to the crowd. They were going nuts, even though the Rockies were trailing by a run. And you could tell that a lot of the cheering was natural and not merely prompted by the left field Jumbotron. It sounded like a phenomenal atmosphere.

Lately Rockies fans have been criticized for being a bunch of band-wagon supporters. Fair weather fans they call them. Some of this criticism may to a certain extent be true, but not necessarily justified.

Let’s face it. The Rockies have pretty much been terrible for their entire existence. Up until this year, they had only qualified for the playoffs once. And that was following the lockout shortened 1995 season. Over the past decade, they had a winning record only once. That was in 2000 when they were a whole two games over .500. Yippee

So you tell me why Colorado fans should have been packing Coors Field on a nightly basis to watch a crappy product. And don’t come at me with the “second-cheapest average ticket price in Major League baseball” argument. Those numbers are skewed by the thousands of unsold upper deck seats for games in April and May. If you buy those bargain nose bleed seats that early during a Colorado spring, you had better bring a parka and a yak if you want to make it down alive. Fork over $50 for an infield seat during the summer months and you will realize the club’s prices are about on par with the rest of the league.

Not that the Rockies attendance has been bad over the years. Take a look at this season. Remember, they have won 21 of their last 22 games. They were very average before then. The Mariners and Dodgers had better records a month ago for gosh sakes. They appeared to be going nowhere and yet they still ranked 19th in attendance.

That might not sound impressive at first glance, but consider where they play. Denver isn’t typically labeled a small market, but in reality, it is. Only six other teams play in smaller metro areas. There aren’t millions upon millions of people in their area within a couple of hours of the ballpark like on the coasts. Only two million, maybe three. Like one author said, prairie dogs don’t buy tickets.

Still not impressed that the Rockies only ranked 19th in attendance? Well, let’s take a look at their NLCS opponents, the Diamondbacks, who also had a surprisingly good year. They play in a significantly larger metro area. They won a World Series only six years ago. They play in a newer stadium with a retractable roof. And they won their division. They ranked 20th.

So yes, I acknowledge that the 50,213 people who packed Coors Field last night (this morning?) is a big jump from the 25,000 the Rockies averaged during the regular season. But I am not going to cast stones. Yet. The real test will be to see how the city supports the team through the next few years. Now they have a reason to come to the ballpark. They have had a taste of success.

Nothing pains a Cubs fan like watching the Marlins, who have won TWO recent World Series titles, play their home games in front of a crowd the size of your average television studio audience. Ungrateful bastards…

I think that the Rockies will continue to receive support well after this year. Denver will rally behind a winner, or at least somebody competitive. Look at the Nuggets. They aren’t even very good, but they’ve made the playoffs and are drawing big crowds. Even the Mammoth, the lacrosse team, draws well. And nobody in Colorado could name you their starting lineup.

So I say to Rockies fans. Ignore the “fair weather fan” barbs that will inevitably come your way during the World Series. I know that there hasn’t really ever been a reason to be excited about the hometown nine. But now you are going somewhere Cubs fans haven’t been since 1945. So I am expecting at least 62 years of support to show the world that you are not “fair weather”.

In order to accomplish that, you might want to start looking for that parka and yak

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