Friday, August 15, 2008

Did the Rockies really win the 2007 NL Pennant?

With a year of hindsight, last year's pennant by the Rockies was truly bizarre...

Imagine you are a Denver sports fan and you've been patient with the Rockies and their futile attempt to put a contender on the field.

You saw the Blake Street Bombers of 1995 slug their way to a wild card... but ever since then there's been nothing to cheer about.

The 1996, 1997 and 2000 teams finished just barely over .500... and since then they fell into irrelevance.
And with the introduction of the humidor, the scores weren't even 11-10 anymore.

They were the definition of a filler team on the schedule. A franchise that made you feel sorry for a steady pro like Todd Helton who was cursed with anonymity in the Rockie Mountains.

So let's say you are that Denver sports fan who saw the 2007 team hover around the .500 mark all summer but also spend the season stuck in fourth place.

Yeah it's nice to see a team have a chance to win more than they lose, but it's another who cares season... another meaningless passing of the time before the Broncos started.

So it's September 15th, the Rockies just lost their 3rd straight... 6 1/2 back with 14 to play.

And that Sunday you stop paying attention...
Or you decide to go on a 6 week camping trip...
Or you become the caretaker of the Overlook Hotel.

You'd come back to see the Rockies only lost one more regular season game, won a winner take all playoff against San Diego, swept 2 teams before somehow winning the NL Pennant.

And in 2008 it all went back to normal.
Losing baseball... not contending in a division where 84 wins might be enough.

The Denver fan who stopped following those last 6 weeks might have missed the sole glory this franchise will ever have.

So today I pose the question to Rockies fans... what was the lasting effect of the 2007 pennant?

Folks at Rockies World... do you see more people pumped up and knowing the names of the players?

Hey Rockies Home, what do you think was the fluke? The pennant or this downturn?

Do the folks at Rox Head really think this is the worst Rockies team ever?

Does everyone at Purple Row still wear their 2007 gear with pride?

Are all Rockie fans like Mark at Bad Altitude and tuning out... a la Marlins fans after the post 1997 World Series fall out?

Or is everyone in Denver, including the Up in the Rockies folks, just waiting for the Broncos season to start?

I've got a bunch of cousins who grew up in Colorado and they tried to trash talk with me as the 2007 World Series got started.

They were so green at it I almost felt like I needed to expain the rules of baseball to them.

What I am saying is a month and a half is far too short a "glorious era."

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