When I left the Rays had a five game lead in the AL East. Good times indeed. They finished their sweep of the Red Sox when I was on the road. It was okay being disconnected from Rays universe, since I woke up to the news that the Rays were still winning. They took three of four from Kansas City. Perfectly acceptable.
Just as I was starting to miss my computer, Staats and Magrane, and even Todd Kalas the Rays lost two to the Yankees. It’s okay, I was surrounded by beer and Tigers fans. So naturally I chose the beer.
That’s when the down-slide started. I was in the hills of North Carolina. Totally disconnected. My cell phone didn’t even work. Nascar country and my Sprint phone didn’t have service! This was probably good for me, but…whatever.
As I was comin down the mountain, I heard the news. The Indians swept the Rays. The Indians who had lost ten in a row? So annoying. To be honest everything was annoying me. One guy called me a bandwagon fan since I was wearing my Longo shirt. He said maybe if I was wearing a Devil Rays shirt it wouldn’t be so obvious. This just irked me. He’s right I’ve only been a Rays fan for half of their existence, but they aren’t that old! And even die hard fans wear the new gear! And at least I live there! They rag on Rays fans for not filling the stadium, and then they call them bandwagon fans when they do show up. Infuriating!
Then there’s this talk that Rays fans are all arrogant. Every fan base has it’s jerk-offs, that doesn’t mean it’s the standard. Most of the Rays fans I know can’t believe how much fun this season is, and are cautiously optimistic. Funny how most of these comments come from Yankees and Red Sox fans. Oh, and they can keep their Sweet Caroline. Last time I checked the fans don’t decide what songs are played at the Trop. I would have went with the old stand by “na na na na, na na na na, hey hey hey Goodbye!”
Before I got home, I needed to get some groceries since the cupboards were bare. That was just the cherry on top of my day. As I was shopping two people in Red Sox gear passed each other and cheered “We’re in first place again!” I gave them the evil eye, but they didn’t melt like I planned. It took all of my strength not to scream at them. “Get out of my store! Get out of my town!” Instead I just threw more cookies in my cart. Now it will be the Red Sox fault when I get fat.
Back in the car something dawned on me. You know why I was so crabby? Because I cared. Because the Rays are a good enough team to make the playoffs this year, let alone next year. For Rays fans the goal has changed. We don’t just want a .500 season, we want the whole enchilada, and this team can do it.
So this blogger and the Rays are finally home desperately needing to regroup. We knew the Rays would have a slump at some point, I’d say right before the All-star break is a good time to do it. Now they can rest and get back to winning series again.
Let’s have some fun the next couple of days, with the home-run derby and the all-star game. I’m a little nervous about Longo, but he’s young and what an experience that will be for him. Plus this year I’ll have someone to root for. As for the all-star game a win could come in handy when the Rays make it to the world series. :)
Great to be home! Go Rays!!
