12 R O C K I E S M A G A Z I N E coloradorockies.com | twitter.com/Rockies | twitter.com/LosRockies | facebook.com/Rockies J U LY 2 0 1 2

o some, Rockies Baseball is casual en-tertainment. To others, it’s a religion.

To us, it’s a passionate love affair that beganwith racing hearts, shortness of breath anda glow of perspiration.

It’s an experience we’ll never forget. Ofcourse, I’m referring to climbing the stairsto our seats on the 300-level of Coors Fieldless than 24 hours after moving to Denverfrom sea level. Racing hearts and shortnessof breath occurred by the fifth stair, perspi-ration was well underway as we approachedClub Level, our faces began to turn Rockiespurple shortly afterward, and by the timewe reached our seats, we had begun to hal-lucinate from the lack of oxygen. At least

that’s what we thought when we looked at the field and saw a giant pur-ple dinosaur!

It sure was a relief to discover Dinger was not the result of oxygen dep-rivation playing tricks on our brains. Thankfully, the only medical treat-ment we required was a cold drink and a Rockie Dog. We spent the nextfew hours catching our breath and getting to know the Rockies.

Despite the spark we felt during our first “date” with the Rockies, wewere immediately faced with a long, forced separation. It was the last homegame of the 2004 season. We spent our first winter in Denver getting intoshape. We knew we would see the Rockies again, and we wanted to be inshape when they returned. Never again would we arrive at our seats feel-ing as if we had sprinted up the side of a “14er.”

Spring arrived and as we walked toward Coors Field, a feeling of nerv-ous anticipation swelled within us. What if the spark was no longer there?What if we passed out trying to climb the stairs to the 300-level seats? Wehad nothing to worry about. It seemed as if half the stairs had been re-moved during the offseason and, in no time, we were warmly embraced byanother season of Rockies baseball.

Since then, our relationship with the Rockies has grown and evolved.We started devoting more time to the relationship. First just a few gamesa year, then a few more, a couple trips to Spring Training, and before we

n 2007, my 15 year old son Kyle was fighting for his life at Chil-dren’s Hospital when Clint Hurdle came to visit him. The

Rockies weren’t doing very well and Clint asked Kyle for some luck.Kyle gave him his lucky number, 64, and Clint wrote it on his score-card that night. The Rockies were down by nine runs going intothe ninth inning, and came back to win! After the game, Clintcame back to the hospital and continued to write #64 on his lineupcard. The Rockies went on to win the next 21 out of 22 games.

During that time, my precious Kyle lost his battle with cancer.The Rockies made it to the NL championship game and my daugh-ter Macie threw out the first pitch. The Rockies won that game 6-4, with all six runs scored in the fourth inning. Clint also pulledhis starting pitcher at 64 pitches.

I know my angel was in the outfield that night and I know hecontinues to watch over my Rockies! This June 30th would havebeen Kyle’s 20th birthday and I think this would be a great monthto remember him and his story.

- “Your Story, Our Team” submitted by Joanna Blakeman, Highlands Ranch, Colo.

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Illustrations by Brooke Howell

knew it, there was a schedule magnet on the refrigerator andRockies jerseys in our closets.

Baseball has a tendency to break fans’ hearts and we knew wewere putting ourselves in a vulnerable situation, but we justcouldn’t stay away. We’ve been in this relationship for a whilenow, and the racing hearts, shortness of breath and perspirationare distant memories, but the passion remains. In fact, we’reready to take the next step and commit to the Rockies on adeeper, more permanent level—a season ticket Mini-Plan.

- “Your Story, Our Team” submitted by Katie Wolters, Denver, Colo.