Should the Rockies ban invading Chicago Cubs fans from Coors Field?
Kiz: They’re baaack! With the smell of Old Style on their breath and all the arrogance earned from winning a single championship in the last century, Cubs fans have returned in force at Coors Field. These are the transplants who weren’t tough enough to put up with Chicago winters but now want everyone in Denver to believe an everlasting love for the North Side runs through their veins. Why do we have to put up with this nonsense? Newman: Gee Kiz, it sounds like Nolan Arenado isn’t the only one who is highly perturbed that the Rockies’ home turns into Wrigley Field West every time Chicago rolls into town. But hey, it’s hard to knock their passion. The games have a different intensity when the Cubs are here because Rockies fans, bless their Rooftop-loving souls, just don’t bring the same energy that the W flag-flying faithful do — at home or on the road. Kiz: I’m a product of the Midwest and the son of a Cubs fan. My father risked life and limb back in the 1960s to install a television antenna the size of a pterodactyl on the roof of our house in northern Indiana so he could watch a very snowy picture of Ron Santo playing third base and listen to Jack Brickhouse calling the games on WGN. So I get it. The Cubbies are an incurable addiction. It’s cute in Wrigleyville. It’s annoying in LoDo. Newman: Annoying, but also perhaps a reverence that Rockies fans can aspire to. Sure, the Chicago franchise has more than a century’s head start, but the continued high home attendance in Colorado’s 27th year tells me the Rockies’ fan base is just starting to tap into its own intensity. Maybe, in another 75 years or so after Denver has grown even more overpopulated and expensive, it will be the Coloradans becoming the transplants and invading major-league stadiums across the country in their vintage Arenado jerseys. It’s a slow simmer, Kiz. Kiz: I’m not certain if it’s American, much less legal, to actually ban Cubs fans from 20th and Blake. But it’s OK to heckle them, especially the bandwagon jumpers. They’re easy to recognize. The middle-aged guy who takes his styling tips from manager Joe Maddon. The young hipster who didn’t know Kris Bryant from Kobe Bryant until purchasing a replica jersey. A ban? No. But I suggest this: Anyone wearing Cubs gear must pay double for every beer at a Rockies game. Newman: Double-priced beers sounds a bit excessive — let’s save that card for anyone wearing Dodgers paraphernalia when divisional rival Los Angeles comes back to LoDo later this month. To counter the sea of Cubs fans flowing through the gates, Coors Field’s social butterflies need to get mean. Bust out loud boos with regularity. Quickly quash any “Let’s go Cubs” chants. And, in the name of the baseball gods: No wave this series. Real Rockies fans can’t let Cubs transplants think that’s actually how we behave at baseball games in this city.