An Ode To the Native Rays Fan

Let me say this first, my name is Matt, and I am I band wagoner. It feels so good to say that, I don't have to lie about my fan hood any longer. When I grew up in Tampa, baseball didn't even exist. The Devils Rays first took the mound on March 31, 1998. I was in 7th grade. Even after that historic day, Tampa still didn't care about baseball. The Bucs reigned supreme at the new sombrero, and since the Devil Rays were terrible anyways, they went unnoticed.

Ten years later, the Devil is gone, and the Rays are in the ALCS. Tampa has been given the gift of playoff baseball, and the taste is oh so sweet. No longer do fans just go to the Trop for dime beer night, or tune out after the first 1/3rd of the season because their team is already out of the race. Tampa along with the rest of the nation has fallen in love with the Rays, and has changed so many sports lovers' lives forever.

Now all this new found success has left Rays fans in an interesting position, especially from a New Yorkers perspective. We are in. The unbelievable has happened. It's amazing just to be in the playoffs. But that's the problem, JUST, Tampa is selling itself short. Would Yankees fans be satisfied JUST to get to the wild card? I don't think so, excluding the most recent debacle, a loss in the wild card is the worst thing imaginable for the Bombers. Joe Madden is set to remedy that.

As you saw on our sportscast tonight, Madden spoke about the concern he had over his team's mentality coming into the ALCS. Like his team, the rest of Tampa needs to change their mindset. THIS TEAM CAN WIN THE WORLD SERIES. Amazingly enough, that's not an overstatement, the pitching is strong and the line up is deeeeeeep. All due respect to the Red Sox, but this is our year. The Rays are the definition of Cinderella, worst to first...and along the way they have changed a city...they have turned us from a bunch of band wagoners, to bonafide baseball fans.
-Matt Leach, special to Bobby v. The World