ASTROS FANS GIVE MINUTE MAID SPARK
Sea of orange gets loud early to watch team finish off Rays in ALDS
When the Astros’ Gerrit Cole registered two strikeouts in the first two at-bats, the standing-room-only crowd at Minute Maid Park devolved into a fever dream of orange towel twirling, with chants of “Let’s go, Cole!” rippling through the stadium.
When the Tampa Bay Rays’ third batter stepped up to the plate, the stadium screens lit up in orange and blue, commanding the crowd to make “Loud noises!” But this crowd needed no such instruction.
The fans forgot about their chairs, hopping to their feet. They screamed. They yelled. In the 400 level, Jaime Gonzalez began a concerted effort to lose his voice. “We’re bringing it home, baby!” he yelled, punching his orange rally flag in the air as his 11-yearold son, James, parroted him from one seat over. The younger Gonzalez attempted to yell even louder than his father, fully confident that his youth would protect his vocal chords.
Cole walked the third batter. And many fans found their seats again. But not Jaime Gonzalez. He yelled louder. Deeper.
“Forget the Yankees. That’s yesterday’s America’s team,” he said. “This is the new American team.”
A third batter failed to make it to first base, closing
the top half of the first inning.
“Cy Young!” Gonzalez yelled. “Cy Young! Cy
Young!”
This is the pitcher who will win the game, Gonzalez said, confidently. And then the World Series.
That was even before the Astros came out swinging in the bottom half of that first inning, propelling Houston’s #TakeItBack team to a 4-0 lead in the winner-takeall face-off for its American League Division Series.
From the beginning, Astros fans projected unchecked confidence in their team. The home-field advantage, many said, would do its part to set the Astros up for success. So they wanted to project an enthusiasm that would help their team.
“We’re a good team,” said Deana Wood of Conroe. “And we played well all season to have this home-field advantage, which I think will make all the difference. They want to do it for these fans.”
Wood brought her 9-yearold daughter, Everly, and her 10-year-old son, Walker, who wore a Josh Reddick jersey and Spider-Man gloves in honor of his favorite player. Originally, Wood had planned to forgo the ALDS, hoping to splurge on American League Championship Series tickets instead. But when the Astros failed to close out the ALDS in three, then four games following their 2-0 start, Wood bought tickets for her and her children to show the Astros support on Thursday — just in case they didn’t make it to the next series.
There were a lot of “just in case” thoughts before the game. But then the stadium got loud. And orange. And beer-splattered as the crowd grew a little looser with every pint of Karbach Crawford Bock sold, and every crack of an Astro’s bat. The home-field advantage came to life as the stadium crackled with confidence.
“I woke up with a lot of anxiety,” said Armando Correa (no relation to the Astros’ shortstop, he said, though it would be nice if he could get free tickets). But then he showed up at Minute Maid at 3:30 pm, hit the bar a couple times and joined a stadium-size party.
The second José Altuve went up to bat, all his anxiety rushed out if his body. “First inning, gone,” he said.
Then the bats grew quiet. And the stadium itself fell into a decrescendo. Come the fourth inning, Jarret Williams was able to see the action while sitting down in the 106 section, which had been all tippy toes earlier in the night.
“There’s not as much action as there was earlier,” Williams said. “I feel like honestly people were super hyper at first, and now it’s fallen off a bit.”
The stadium’s energy felt paused, like a long fuse has been lit, and everyone sat poised, waiting for the boom.
“The second one of these guys puts another run up, the place is going to explode,” Williams said.
They had to keep waiting.
“It was a magical first inning,” Bellaire resident Wadie Habiby said in the top of the seventh inning. But that was hours ago.
“The bats have quieted down,” he said. “But Cole is hanging in there.”
Cole went on to record 10 strikeouts in eighth innings.
Then came left fielder Michael Brantley, with his first postseason home run of the year, sending shock waves through the stadium as fans began jumping up and down, the boom they’d been waiting for finally reverberating in their ears.
When Altuve stepped up to bat next, a solid chant of “Jose, Jose, Jose, Jose,” rang through the crowd.
“And then boom, right on cue!” said Bobby Zepeda, a member of the Astros guest services staff stationed on the 200 level. Altuve crushed a second solo home run. Zepeda said he has been to more games than he can count this season, but the energy he absorbed during that celebration stands apart from other moments he’s witnessed during the Astros 107-win march toward the World Series.
“It was insane,” he said. “Just insane.”
A few feet away, Nicholas Ellerbe couldn’t believe his eyes. Maybe because there were tears forming in them, as he jumped off his feet and began crying, cheering and hugging everyone he could reach nearby — whether he knew them or not.
“We all deserve this,” he said. “They deserve this.”