Some of you call yourself "long suffering." I won't say you don't know the half of it, but hear me out.
I started going to Ranger games not too long after they moved to Arlington. I wasn't very old. Heck, I didn't even know what beer was then, so when I heard "cold beer," I asked for one! That was probably '73, maybe '74. Back then, we didn't live in DFW so we only went to like one game a year but it was always a treat. We'd go to souveneir nights and once, on cap night, it started raining lightly. The caps they gave then were of very cheap quality and the red dye on my dad's cap ran down the side of his face! Look, I said, dad's bleeding! Family story classic for years.
Seeing the Rangers on TV back then was a once-a-month deal so I mostly caught them on radio, sometimes in the hammock in my backyard. A couple of years later, we moved to the DFW area and started going to more games, 3-5 a year. I'd often invite friends of mine from my past city, especially those first 2 summers, to come down, go to a game and hit Six Flags. Those were some of the funnest times I had back then. I went to all the promotional nights and got shirts, bats, and hats -- the quality kept getting better. I don't think I ever went to ball night, though. My mom refused to let us go to cheap beer night!! Anyway, we were in the bleachers one night when the Rangers were playing the Red Sox, who were taking batting practice. Fred Lynn was shagging balls and all of a sudden, Lynn, with his arm straight to his side just bends his wrist backward with an open glove and caught a fly ball that came no more than a few inches over his head. Coolest thing I ever saw!
By HS, I wasn't going as much but I still managed a game a year, usually with my church youth group -- or I crashed another church group when they were going. By the time I started driving, my buddies and I were going more often. Half a dozen times at least, but I was still busy working and doing other things. Remember, the Rangers in the '80s were not good, and that's the least you could say. By the mid-80s, I was going more often as I'd found some good seats behind 3rd base that angled in that I thought were the best seats to watch the game.
While at A&M, I didn't go much, but I managed a game or two here and there. I went opening day to the Ballpark (still have the coke bottle) and for several years afterwards until I lost interest in pro sports completely. I'm pretty sure I didn't miss a season between '73 or '74 and about 2002, but honestly, the most games I went to during a season couldn't have been more than 20 and that was maybe twice. So yeah, I saw a lot of bad baseball and very few highlights, but also had a lot of fun. Arlington Stadium, except when it was hot, wasn't bad, especially when there weren't many there. The Ballpark was nice and for a short time, I entertained several clients out there for my firm.
So yeah, its definitely time. Biggest sports disappointment by far was Super Bowl 13. Nothing will ever make up for that but a title, especially tonight, will go a long way. I haven't owned a Rangers cap in decades, but will get one and think of my dad, even with red dye running down his face, every time I wear it.