From the team’s namesake mountain communities to small farm
towns across Colorado, Rockies fans came together in taverns and
restaurants to cheer on a team that has pulled a state together into
one giant fan base. Those fans groaned and cheered in unison
across the miles as the Red Sox stacked up runs while the Rockies
showed their opening-game jitters. But they didn’t lose faith.
Here’s what happened in three of those towns:
Long day gets longer
FRUITA — Joe Terry put in more than 12 hours building a well pad in the Piceance Basin oil fields Wednesday, and he was spent. But he still had enough Rockies spirit to park himself in front of a TV screen at the End Zone bar to watch at least the beginning of the first game of the World Series.
With a 4 a.m. wake-up call and more than 60 miles to drive back to the oil fields, he was going to enjoy what he could and force himself to go to bed before game’s end. He would learn the outcome in the wee hours while much of Colorado slept off Rockies fever.
“I’ll root for them all the way, and I’ll cuss them when they mess up,” Terry said after throwing his hands in the air one second for what looked like a Rockies home run and burying his head in his arms the next when it was snatched out of the air just shy of Fenway Park’s Green Monster.
Dylan Dunlap, 11, was a little more subdued — but not much — as he sat in a back booth, high-fiving his dad, Gregg, on every play to his liking.
They came dressed for victory in the no-fair-weather-fan Rockies jerseys bought last year at Coors Field.
“They might actually win the World Series,” Dylan said with a wide smile and a spirit not dampened in the least by the then-11 Red Sox runs.
Fruita electrician Garrett Shoemaker felt the same way as he watched from a table he had pulled in front of the biggest TV in a tavern sporting half a dozen screens.
“This is a once-in-a-lifetime deal,” Shoemaker said as he patted a large photo of Todd Helton displayed carefully facing the screen like a talisman on a shrine. “I’m not worried. We’re gonna do it.” Nancy Lofholm
Quiet as a funeral
AULT — Downtown was as lively as roadkill Wednesday night.
But there was action at the Bison Breath Saloon, where co-owner Ben Janssen doled out Cactus Juice shots for every Rockies run and otherwise boasted of the bar’s many attributes.
“We’ve got the only automatic- flush toilets in town,” Janssen said.
Bison Breath also may have one of the most vocal Rockies fans in George Moore, who moved to the tiny town 17 years ago to get away from the hustle-and-bustle of nearby Loveland.
Moore taunted Red Sox ace Josh Beckett when the pitcher was tagged with a run in the second inning. “See he ain’t no God!” Moore yelled.
About a dozen or so raw-boned men wearing mud-cracked boots, ballcaps or cowboy hats surrounded the bar. Many watched the game in between talk of construction jobs and farm work.
But for most of the game, the only patrons showing real joy were the little kids who played on the bar’s lone pool table.
Few seemed truly heartbroken about the Rockies’ performance, however. Most come to the Bison Breath to catch up with the town’s goings-on and be with friends.
“It’s a good place,” said Ault native Nancy White. “He (Janssen) opens the place up on Sundays to watch the Broncos and any other sports team. We like it here.” Monte Whaley
Passing a test of faith
WOODLAND PARK — Stephen Owens bellied up to the long bar at the Historic Ute Inn for a historic night of baseball in Colorado, and despite a lopsided score, he kept the faith.
Even after a leadoff home run from the Boston Red Sox, even as other fans hissed, “Right out of the gate,” Owens believed.
“They’re going to be a little rusty tonight because anytime you have an eight-day break, that can happen. I’m confident. This is only the first game,” he said.
Owens was one of about 40 people who packed the small-town bar, where regulars in Harley-Davidson mix with people in Carhart or Patagonia.
Bar owner Mike Mueller offered “Ball Park Specials,” a stadium-style menu that included $2 hot dogs, $4 half-pound burgers and $5 nachos.
After shortstop Troy Tulowitzki scored the Rockies’ only run, the crowd chanted: “Here we go, Rockies, here we go!”
“We’re in. We’re in,” Mueller cheered.
The faithful were offered Jello shots — purple ones and, for the Broncos, blue and orange.
Nate Williams, 31, of Woodland Park wore his purple Rockies shirt and hoped for a sweep, though he was not overly concerned about the ballclub’s slow start.
“It’s not the greatest start, but it happens. They’ll turn it around. We hope so anyways,” Williams said.
As the game wore on, and the Rockies seemed to have misplaced some of their magic mojo that carried them through the postseason, Owens looked toward the next game.
“Just wait till tomorrow,” Owens said. “I believe tomorrow is a Rockies win because of Ubaldo Jimenez. He’s a 23-year-old phenom.”
