"...And I Was THERE!" - Joel Heflin

I'd like to take this opportunity to post the first in what will be a long series of articles called "...And I Was THERE!"  These articles will be written by Rangers fans sharing some of their favorite Rangers memories, but the only catch is these are games the authors actually attended.  I'll be writing a few of these, but I'll also be asking many of you readers if you'd like to contribute, so if you're interested and you've already got something in mind, email me or make a note in the comments and I'll set you up.

Leading off is Joel Heflin.  Joel and I were good buddies at East Texas Baptist University.  He now lives in Longview, Texas.

Our Moment

Since I was a child the Texas Rangers have always been my favorite baseball team.  I don’t remember being told to like them as is evidenced by my older brother being an Astros fan.  My family never took me to any games and my grandfather never told me stories about the Rangers “back in the day”.  From what I can tell I was just born a Rangers fan.  I’m pretty sure it’s in my DNA.  I remember going up to our local mall to meet Bobby Witt & Bobby Valentine when I was young.  One of the first real hardback books I read was Nolan Ryan’s Miracle Man.  I collected all of the Ryan Express trading cards and proudly wore my Ranger shirt on the first day of 2nd grade.  I even remember making a comic book about Ryan and the Texas Rangers.  I can look back on the time I was so disappointed when I found out the Texas Ranger Museum & Hall of Fame that we were visiting as a family in Waco had nothing to do with the baseball team.  My first fitted cap was a blue Rangers cap and my first ballpark hotdog was eaten while watching the Texas Rangers play on a hot summer day.  I have a lot of memories of specific games and many good times but it hasn’t always been easy being a Rangers fan.  I remember my friends wearing Yankees hats and shirts or wearing Braves jerseys to school.  I would watch each year as people’s loyalties would shift with each new World Series champion.  The Rangers just couldn’t make all the pieces fit together at the right time.  When it looked like they could really make a run for the pennant they would fall apart after the All-Star break.  Many of my friends turned on the Rangers and found “winning teams” to be “fans” of.  The fact that they were the only MLB franchise to never win a post-season series was mentioned a lot as “friends” ridiculed the Rangers.  I would even bring up the statistic to remind myself to not get overly excited when things were going well.  While I am not a fan that knows every stat, or goes to 40 games a season, deep in my heart I have always been a Rangers fan.

            After 29 years of disappointment something felt different this season.  As the days, weeks and months clicked by there was a feeling that amidst all the bankruptcy chaos somehow things were finally falling into place at the right time for this Rangers team.  I tried not to get my hopes up because I had learned the hard way with the Rangers anything that can go wrong will go wrong.  As we all now know something really was different this season.  The entire organization seemed to be coming together as a family and it was showing on the field.  With each win and each player acquisition it felt more and more like this could finally be “our year”.  Fast forward to October 22, 2010.  My wife and I are at ALCS game 6 and a storm is brewing.  During the numerous downpours before and during the beginning of the game I had time to think about other sporting events I’ve attended.  Countless high school baseball and football games.  I’ve watched my Marshall Mavericks play for the state championship in Texas Stadium.  I’ve sang about sawing horns off at Kyle Field.  I have smelled the burning rubber as cars flew around the track at 200 mph at the NASCAR All-Star Race.  I’ve seen the Mavericks beat LeBron and Shaq and I’ve watched the Stars skate to victory.  From college football bowl games, NFL rivalries and little league games I’ve been there.  I’ve felt the rush of adrenaline and the unpleasantness of butterflies in my stomach.  Nothing I had ever experienced even came close to what I felt Friday night at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington.  I was worried all day the game wouldn’t even happen because of the storms moving through the area.  We got a little wet but the fans didn’t go anywhere.  Each time the downpour started the crowd just clapped harder and cheered louder.  The Rangers were able to draw first blood but a one run lead did little to calm my nervousness.  Throughout the ALCS I dreaded the moment when the Evil Empire would kick things into high gear and ruin our dream season.  When Alex Rodriguez scored on the blown call in the top of the fifth I just knew it was happening.  I knew like every season before things were falling apart and my hopes had been too high.  I knew it was too good to be true and that I wouldn’t get to experience that moment I had seen so many times in the movies.  I wouldn’t get to watch my underdog team defeat the New York Yankees to win the pennant and go to the World Series.  I could feel it all slipping away.  The energy was totally sucked out of the ballpark and I could tell I wasn’t the only one who was dreading what was to come. 

           

            Then something happened that confirmed to the entire world that this wasn’t the Rangers of old.  This was not a team that would ALMOST get the job done.  This team would not buckle under pressure or give up when things got tough.  After a single from Mitch Moreland and a couple of groundouts Yankees pitcher Phil Hughes decided to intentionally walk Josh Hamilton.  He then made the mistake of hanging a curveball out over the plate and Vladimir Guerrero made him pay for it.  With a two-run double the crowd ERUPTED!!!  Could it be?  Could the dream still be alive?  Could the Texas Rangers actually make it to the World Series???  Deep in my heart we wanted it to be true but even as the crowd cheered and chanted loudly we all knew after game one a lead could easily be erased in one inning.  After Nelson Cruz blasted out a two-run homer extending the Rangers lead to four runs we could breathe a little easier but the entire crowd was sitting on pins and needles.  Since the beginning of the game I was counting down the outs left until the Rangers were in the World Series.  24, 21, 18, 15, 12, then 9 and 6 outs until the Texas Rangers were the American League Champion!!!  You could have removed every seat, chair and bleacher from the ballpark because not a single person was sitting down for the last few innings.  I’ve never heard any ballpark, stadium, or arena that loud in my life!  We couldn’t even hear the announcer over the roar of the crowd!  Going into the 9th we had a 6-1 lead and Neftali Feliz on the mound.  3 MORE OUTS!!!  Usually a 6-1 lead in the 9th would be pretty comfortable but we all knew the Yankees could rally back at any moment.  As Curtis Granderson struck out the crowd somehow became even louder than deafening.  The Yankees fans sitting on my left grew VERY quiet.  As Robinson Cano was thrown out we knew we were so close but also it’s never over until it’s over.  You could literally feel the excitement/nervousness in the ballpark.  As A-Rod made his way to the plate I thought I was going to have a heart attack.  My heart was beating so fast and I had to fight the urge to just close my eyes until it was over.  In all my years of sporting events I had dreamed of being there for one of those “magical moments”.  The kind of events that live on in the memories of people for the rest of their lives.  The moments that are played over and over on SportsCenter and YouTube.  The kind of experience that lets you one day get to look your grandchildren in the eye and say “I was there”.  After 29 years of disappointment, a lifetime of heartache and letdown and after so many people paid their dues with blood, sweat & tears we finally got OUR moment.  Here is my view of that magical moment so many Ranger fans have dreamed of for a lifetime. 

It’s finally our time. Enjoy OUR Moment!  The Texas Rangers are in the World Series!!!

Joel Heflin