Giveaway makes fans feel like champions themselves
The pouring rain and darkened skies made it even better.
Waiting and waiting. Enduring a little more. Then, finally, the shining thing for which so many braved traffic, packed lines, and a June downpour. The ring. “There it is!” shouted an overexcited boy in orange and blue, his enthusiasm perfectly in place among the 43,409 faithful on ring night Wednesday evening at Minute Maid Park.
Check that: Ring night, part two.
“Due to the overwhelming popularity of the Replica World Champions Rings … all ticketed Astros fans in attendance tonight will receive the popular giveaway at gates upon entry,” read a section of the Astros’ media game notes, which are normally devoted to Jose
Altuve stats and Justin Verlander facts.
Popular? Now, that’s an understatement.
I’ll get to the woman who flew in from Iowa just to get a (replica) 2017 World Series ring in a minute. Right now, I’m going to search eBay.
Sold April 7, 2018: $499 – “2017 Houston Astros Replica World Series Ring RARE!!”
Sold April 9: $400 – “Houston Astros World Series Replica Ring New in box.”
The secondary ring market is probably going to take a hit after about 40,000 new-in-box shiny things were handed out, joining the 10,000 feverishly scooped up the first time. That event was so successful the Astros devoted an entire promotional night to giving out as many rings as possible.
Casey Birge was standing in the Crawford Boxes during batting practice with his new possession. The 43-year-old Humble resident attends about 50 games a year as a seasonticket holder. But Birge, who saw all but one of the Astros’ 2017 home World Series games up close, missed out on the initial April 6 giveaway. He attended the San Diego-Astros game, but his son’s baseball tournament ran late, turning Tampa Bay-Astros on Wednesday into a must-see.
“We were not selling these tickets, no matter what,” Birge said.
What makes something so simple so necessary? The obvious.
“It just represents history,” said Birge, who now has a replica ring to go with his replica World Series trophy. “It will not be going on eBay.”
And you thought dollar hot dog night was big.
I don’t get to say this often about some of our local pro sports teams. But baseball’s reigning champs nailed it Wednesday. With a small cardboard box and a fake ring, they created a perfect memento that will remain in the lives of devoted fans for years, decades and longer.
Back-to-back-to-back home run blasts by George Springer, Alex Bregman and Altuve then made it 5-1 Astros as A.J. Hinch’s club won for the 13th time in 14 games.
“We were blown away by how many people wanted this first ring giveaway. … After seeing how many people wanted rings — how many people didn’t get rings that lined up early — it was just a no-brainer,” Astros president Reid Ryan said. “We said, ‘We need to do another one.’ So when I started talking to Jim (Crane) about wanting to do another one, he said, ‘Look, we need to do one for all fans. We want everybody.’ ”
Normally, the Astros limit their giveaways to 10,000, rewarding diehard fans who walk through the gates early and are in their seats for the first pitch.
But this is the year after waiting 55 and the season when a golden banner was unveiled. More than 230 days after the Astros won the first world championship in franchise history, the reality of those words is still sinking in for a fanbase that waited so long for a single ring.
“It really fits with the whole mantra that we’ve had as an organization of trying to make sure that everyone gets to enjoy this championship,” said Ryan, who was thanked by an Astros fan who drove down from Dallas just for a ring. “People have been lining up in the rain, and everyone’s getting one, and it’s months after the season started.”
The home city of the baseball team to the north that still hasn’t won one has nothing on Dallas Center, Iowa.
Kathy Pantzar, a former Katy resident, connected with a friend who has season tickets and flew in, just to make sure she collected a replica.
“When they announced they were giving everybody a ring, she called me and said, ‘Hey, could you hook me up?’ And I said, ‘If you want a ring, come and get your own,’ ” said Donna Hopkins, a Katy resident who has been a Minute Maid Park devotee since it was called Enron Field.
I suppose a little cynicism could be applied.
Sports and commercialism. Fans who have to have everything. A collector’s mentality for something that’s actually not worth that much.
Then there are the legacy franchises with multiple titles … or 27.
Wednesday at the ballpark in downtown Houston wasn’t about that or them. Crane’s Astros simply looked smart, deepening the connection with a growing fan base they once pushed away.
It was just pride, history and happiness. Waiting in the pouring rain to receive a piece of something some once thought impossible. A fake ring that, for many, will proudly last a lifetime.
If only there were 50,000 more.