January 2013
Spring is my Thing
1-27-2013
Spring Training in Arizona.
For some of us, there is no regular season without a trip south just to check things out.
Knowing that sometime in March I’ll be traipsing through the backfield at some team’s facility scouring for baseballs or innocently(wink wink) wandering into a restricted area fill my winter time thoughts.
I know it will be warm and I’ll be wearing shorts, sunglasses and sport’n my trademark Ranter hat.
Plus Arizona has In and Out Burger joints :)…Yeah!
Daydreaming about spring training is what gets me through the Colorado winter. I know for a fact I’m not the only one who daydreams about the southwest sun and cacti.
Rantics, I see your FACEBOOK posts 
Spring Training for the players is intense at times but for me it’s how I decompress from life. I’ve stopped setting goals for myself and I plan to focus on having a good time. Setting goals creates pressure and as I just mentioned that’s not what I’m shooting for. The goal if any is to relax, have fun, hang with baseball friends, make some new friends, catch some baseballs, watch 3 World Baseball Classic games, wander the back fields of random spring training facilities, and take LOTS of pictures.
Then tell you all about it because that’s what the Number #1 Rockies MLBlogger for the last 6 years does
As far as autographs go I plan to bring some of my pictures along and hopefully get a few of my favorites signed. I have no idea of what to get autographed at the WBC??
Maybe a WBC bat or jersey?
I feel like I crank out some of my best blogs during Spring Training. I’m not sure if it’s because I’m relaxed or because I’m more focused by not being distracted by my normal routine?
I guess stuff is just more fun to write about when you had a blast doing it.
Same as last year I’ll be hang’n with my partner in crime the Rox Addict and there’s usually never a dull moment with us two exploring a ballpark or a restricted area
We’re sort of a Dynamic Rockies Blogging Duo of sorts.
This year will be my 6th year attending Spring Training in Arizona. So in tribute to that here are some links and a few pictures from my Spring Training adventures in years past.
The Mobile Blogging Unit and Hi Corbett Field. I loved that place.(2009).
Snagg’n Behind Enemy Lines for the First Time. (2009)
Snagged my Holy Grail at Maryvale (2009)
A Geezer and A Canadian Open the New Stadium (2011)
Rockies win that first game in the new stadium 8-7.
I End up with One…But Damn it was Fun (2011)
Two Dudes from Ned in a Stadium of Red (2012)
Next Time Put Up a Sign (2012)
Mike the Rox Addicts first game ball: (2012)…He Snagged the ball Green hat and all
Baseball memories.
I figured out why I chase baseballs.
As a kid some of my fondest memories were going to hockey games with my pops. We had a local farm team and my thing was I liked to try and snag a puck or two when I was there. This was way before they used nets and pucks would often fly into the stands and kids would scramble for them. I guess chasing baseballs takes me back to a happy place in my childhood.
We all need something like that.
I’m “D” the Ranter
Spring Training brings out the kid in me. Six weeks till I get to play.
See you kids down there
Bronco Cheers Turn Into Frozen Tears
1-12-13
Alternative title was:
Whadaya Know…Joe Can Throw
Layers food and adrenaline are how you deal with extended periods of cold when tail-gat’n.
Some might say booze helps. We all know it doesn’t really, but it does make being out in the cold a whole lot more tolerable. Plus if ever there was a right time and right place..Today qualified.
COLD..I like my cold with snow. No snow today. I heard a rumor this was the coldest Broncos home game since 1972. I believe it, I’ve never been cold at any sporting event like I was cold at this game. During the game unless you had club level seats there was nowhere to go to warm up.
By halftime my Coke was frozen in my cup…No joke!
Sitt’n here writing this blog entry a day later, I’m in shock, my head hurts, my bones are still cold from 7 hours in the elements and I can’t for the life of me wrap my head around this season being over.
WTF happened?
Where was my man Champ Baily? I figured he’d be money this game.
Why did the Broncos take a knee with time on the clock?
Why did Moore let Jacoby Jones get in front of him? (Worst Play Ever)
Was it something I did or didn’t do. Was it my new Jersey?
What happened to this being Peyton’s house? Denver Defense?
I felt like I did my part.
It just didn’t seem like the same team I watched win 11 straight games before today. For sure the Broncos didn’t look like a SuperBowl bound team.
I’m totally kerfuffled.
I start to wonder does Manning have a post-season jinx?(He’s now 9-11) Was it the combination of the pressure and the weather? Was his neck bugg’n him? I know when it’s cold out my back just plain hurts.
Begrudgingly…Props to the Baltimore Ravens! What a game plan on both sides. That’s all I’m gonna say about that. Best of luck to ya Ray Lewis(Snitch).
K and I showed up about 3 hours early each with about 5 layers of clothes and multiple hand and foot warmers. Underneath everything I was wearing my new Broncos jersey.
It’s the one I won for the winning the Bud Light Bottle Race back in December of 2011. Long story short they it took them 11 months to send the first jersey and it was a size 56 XXXL. I had requested a 52 XXL.
It was returned back to the Broncos and just in time for this game I received my customized size 52 XXL Players Jersey. Thank you Broncos!!
I was extremely pleased with my Nikon camera for holding up in the single digit temps.
Here’s the game from a fans point of view sitting there freezing his ass off.
5th level front row.
Here’s Lee stepp’n on Champs hand to start the game off.
Holliday starts to work his way down field.
Quick look…No worries.
Damn he caught up quick…No worries I got this.
That’s how you start a game!
Feeling invincible.
A fired up Champ Baily..Before the cold set in.
Champ about to get beat bad.
I feel ya Champ…Gett’n old sucks.
What’s up with the Broncos fan wearing a Manning jersey cheering the Ravens extra point?
Tight end Joel Dreesson, starting to turn a nice pink color.
This gets ugly.
Decker gett’n manhandled.
Hit hard and the ball is loose.
Graham eyes it.
It’s his.
At this point in the game my stomach started to feel a lil queezy.
The Ravens kept changing the momentum of this game. As much as Broncos fans were cheering and making noise, it was in vain. This bird soared into the end zone.
Stomach still queezy now my toes were gett’n cold.
Manning with a sweet pass to Stokley.
Stokley with a sweet catch for a TD!
Flacco to Rice…Waaaay to much of that during this game.
Ray Lewis giving Stokley some luv.
Manning to Moreno.
Flacco Sacco.
Von pressuring Flacco. I wanted to see more of this.
Bronco Luv!
Yeah Von!
Unfortunately that pissed Flacco off.
This is seconds before Broncos fans Superbowl dreams get crushed. Flacco worms his way into position.
Winds up.
Throws a Hail-Mary.
Why Moore is where he is…Is beyond me?
One helluva catch.
The rest explains itself.
The extra point was good and so were K and I.
I hadn’t felt my toes in about an hour and my fingers couldn’t work my camera anymore. K and I decided it was time to go.
We missed nothing.
There will be NO Superbowl for Denver this year.
If Manning is gonna make (sometimes extremely cold)Denver his home for the next couple of years, the folks that can may wanna consider putt’n a retractable lid on ‘ole Mile High.
This way we can keep Manning’s hands warm and his head in the game.
Manning’s play was obviously affected by the weather. I get that, but how do you fix that? 78,000 of us witnessed first hand Manning rapidly degrade as the temperature went from damn cold to nut shriveling.
This is a sad day for Broncos fans.
Let me just say…You gotta be hardcore to be a Colorado Sports fan.
I’m ”D” the Ranter…Still in Shocko from Flacco.
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