Jump on the Bandwagon? No, I'm on the Fan-wagon

Let me start off by saying that someone paid me the nice compliment the other day of asking if I had been working out. I have been working out, but that isn’t the point. The point is that they noticed a change in my appearance due to this workout routine. I trust this person because they are not a close friend or anyone who would stand to gain from paying me a compliment. They are an acquaintance from class who knew me in the spring, didn’t see me over the summer, and is now in my consulting group this fall. So, I thanked them for noticing and then gave a conceited comment to reinforce my high feeling. Something along the lines of, “I look damn sexy; of course I’ve been working out.” I can’t help it. Sometimes that side of me, the overzealous, self-righteous, self-absorbed Aaron comes out for a bit to play. Mostly I am modest, self-controlled, and humble, which has worked for me so far, but doesn’t bring quick results. I guess what I’m getting at is that I’m not all “nice guy” Aaron who doesn’t ruffle feathers and isn’t conceited. Sometimes I’m “that guy” Aaron who knows from years of family reunions and boisterous family members that “it is hard to be humble when you’re a Hansen.”

I forgot exactly what I was going to talk about today. I have a list of topics I want to cover at one point or another, but I’m too lazy to pull that up right now. I had something lined up to talk about earlier this morning, but by the time I’ve gotten around to writing this…it is gone. Oh, I know what I can talk about. Something that is near and dear to my heart. If you know me, you know that my love for this runs as deep as my love for my family or a good beer. The Texas Rangers are my heart. If you have watched any sports related news or picked up a paper then you would know by now that the Rangers have made it to the postseason for the first time in over ten years. This has created a little bit of a Rangers fever in the DFW metroplex that has been compounded by them winning their first two playoff games. I was listening to sports talk radio on the way in to campus today and the “experts” on there are talking World Series berth. They’re debating who would be the best team to face in ALCS. They’re touting Rangers manager Ron Washington as manager of the year. It is all a little overwhelming for a true fan like me. The die-hards like me always talk like this at this time of year, when the rest of the sporting news is talking Cowboys, Stars, and Mavs. It is the first time I have seen a true bandwagon following for the Rangers.

I don’t believe in bandwagons. Ask my brother and he will tell you that he admires my commitment to my teams, rain or shine, without fail. With the Rangers, it goes deeper than that. The Rangers have been a part of my life since I could remember. Our folks would take us to Rangers games as kids. I had a poster of Nolan Ryan, dressed as an Old West sheriff, on my wall in my room. There’s never been a point in my life that I didn’t own a Rangers cap of some kind. Never a point in my life that I wouldn’t watch a Rangers game over another show. Never a point in my life that I didn’t dream of running out on the field at old Arlington Stadium or Rangers Ballpark to take the mound and throw an opening pitch. Needless to say, I love the Rangers.

So, it does bother me a little when the whole Rangers playoff bandwagon gets rolling. Nothing against extra fans, because the Rangers will need all the fan support they can get if they are going to face a national powerhouse team like the Yankees, but it does bother me that in six months these people won’t give two squirts about the Rangers. Sure, Opening Day is always packed, but that’s either because we’re playing some national following team like the Red Sox or people want a reason to skip work. Let me give you an anecdotal example of this bandwagon ridiculousness. I went to a game last week with a friend and my brother and sister-in-law. We are all Rangers fans. My brother and I had a mini-plan of tickets this year (can’t afford season tickets yet). My friend follows the Rangers and went to practically every game with me that my brother didn’t go to. We are real Rangers fans…they are our team. Sitting behind us was what appeared to be a couple from the area and some friends of theirs who were visiting from out of town. The man from here was stumbling and bumbling over facts about the team the whole game. He misidentified the order of first basemen we have had this year. He didn’t know who was traded in the Cliff Lee deal. He didn’t know the names of the base coaches. He was a hot mess of misinformation about the Rangers. Then he said something that got my ire. He said he was a fan and had been following the team all season. If he had, he would know that we started the season with Chris Davis at first base, then Justin Smoak, then Mitch Moreland, then Jorge Cantu, then to platooning Moreland and Cantu. If he had read any newspaper in DFW near the trade deadline he would know that we traded infielder Justin Smoak, pitchers Blake Beavan and Josh Lueke, and infielder Matt Lawson to the Mariners for Cliff Lee and Mark Lowe and more than $2 million in cash. And if the dude had spent just one night in front of the TV watching a Rangers game, he would have learned that our first base coach is Gary Pettis (5-time Gold Glove winner) and our third base coach is Dave Anderson (member of Dodgers' 1988 World Championship). Fans, true fans know this stuff by heart. Bandwagoners have to guess or squint to see the names on jerseys. Sad.