My Nights with the Rangers

Sports have been a main staple in my life, especially growing up in a predominantly male family. Playing and watching games have been a family tradition since back before I was even in the picture. Unfortunately, I had never had the opportunity to actually attend a professional game; whether it be football, soccer, basketball, or baseball (unless you count the Tecolotes...no?) nunca se me hico. Finally, this past week, I got to attend not one, but TWO Texas Rangers games. Oooooh yea, my coolness factor went up a couple of degrees. 

Walking into the stadium was amazing. I do get out of Laredo, not as often as I’d like, but never to go anywhere like the Rangers Ballpark. The seats we got for the first game were eighteen rows away from first base. The possibility of catching a foul ball existed, I was able to see the players up close, and I had a great view of the entire sports grounds. For it being my first visit, I feel in love immediately. Of course, the names Hamilton, Harrison, Kinsler, Cruz, and Lewis didn’t mean anything to me; I had no idea who played what and whether they were famous. To be honest, I’d only seen a handful of games on TV before my Arlington visit. By the end of the game, I knew that Kinsler played second base, Hamilton was out on left field, and Torrealba was the catcher. The other players were important too but one game wasn’t gonna make an expert; but it definitely was a good start.

For the first game, the stadium was freakin’ hot. It was 6pm and the temp was 101F; the wind was no where to be found. Sweating bullets and having to remind myself that I wasn’t in Laredo anymore, still didn’t take away from the fact that I was there. I could feel the electricity in the air, the audience sat patiently waiting for the game to begin, the cheers and jeers erupted when the game started, the vendors going up and down the aisles selling their obscenely expensive goods fascinated me…it was spectacular.

After the first home run by the Minnesota Twins’ Mauer, I promised my companions that should any ball from the Twins happen to fall near me, I sure as hell wasn’t going to be throwing it back in. I didn’t care if the audience booed me until kingdom come, I was gonna be taking that ball home. This was probably gonna be one of the few times I’d ever attend a game and taking a game ball home as a souvenir would be beyond awesome.  But alas, I didn’t end up catching anything but the anticipation made the wait worthwhile. It was fun.

I envied the people wearing their Rangers apparel; I hadn’t bought anything before the game cuz I didn’t wanna seem fake. I mean, I hadn’t been following the team and the only reason I was there was cuz I needed a break from Laredo living. I also wasn’t familiar with the deer with hands for antlers that everyone had on their shirts. It wasn’t until the end of the first game that I realized it stood for Hamilton’s hands (right?). Now I have my own Rangers attire and I don’t feel like a fraud cuz I genuinely like them. The first game I went to, the Rangers ended up losing to the Twins. Again, that didn’t have any negative impact on the experience at all.

The following day, we were still lounging around Arlington and the question of ‘what to do next’ came up. I instantly offered the idea of attending another game. My companions agreed cuz attending a MLB game is not an everyday thing for us Laredoans .

There we went, this time without tickets, and with a lil uncertainly about whether we’d be able to get good seats. Our seats ended up being in the shady, third concourse (aka hasta la fregada). Walking up to the ‘nose bleed’ section was a bit tiring, the climb to the seats was a bit unnerving, but getting to sit behind home base was sooo cool. Given the choice between the first or second game seats, I’d totally choose the second. Yea, it’s cool to sit so close to the field but the view from section 326 was incredible. Now I got see whether the umpire was actually getting the calls right (like he’d listen to me anyways). Temperature wise, it was way breezier up there as well. The audience also started the wave and chanted ‘go Rangers go’ a whole bunch of times. It was fun to join in the commotion; of course they were all drinking their Bud Light while I happily sat with my Dr. Pepper.

During the second game, we also won a free taco from Taco Bueno cuz the Rangers scored a run during a ‘taco’ inning. We didn’t get to redeem our coupons during our visit to the north, but I think I’m gonna frame it and put on my wall. It’s all about the memories, baby.

This poor description of my first Rangers games doesn’t fully grasp what the experience was like for me. I wish I could find the right words to express the feeling and emotion (I should get out more, huh). Well, it’s a trip that I won’t soon forget and what’s even ‘awesomer’ is that I’ve become a fan. I sure ain’t gonna be subscribing to Direct TV anytime soon but whenever I can catch the games on TV I’ll make sure to tune in and check in with their scores often. I’m even looking into another trip up to Arlington for my birthday. I've even gotten my lil girl into the spirit; on random occasions, she'll start clapping and chanting 'go Rangers!'.  I think this the beginning to a beautiful relationship with the Texas Rangers.

BUUUUUUUT, there will always be a numero uno in my heart and that spot’s reserved for the team I follow religiously. There’s no one that’s gonna come between me y los tascados….I mean, the Dallas Cowboys. Sure, they don’t have the best track record but that don’t matter much. I also have a feeling that a visit to a Cowboys game is coming up soon. It’s gonna be a pretty busy fall season. It’s gonna be totally perpendicular.