The Minority Report | Ashley Kim

In 2014, I attended over 30 Rockies games with a good friend. In that season, we had seen just about everything. Nolan Arenado hit his first Grand Slam. Michael Cuddyer hit for the Cycle. Todd Helton’s number, 17, was retired. We attended two double headers. (A double, double header, if you will). And, I heard Drew Goodman say, “Take a good look, you won’t see it for long!” at least a hundred times. I’d relive these moments a thousand times, maybe more. Probably more.

My love affair with baseball started in 2011. The Rockies were playing the Dodgers in a three-game series, and I attended two games back-to-back. They won both.

Something about spending seven hours breathing in peanut dust and blinded by stadium lights had me hooked. Maybe peanut dust is baseball’s fairy dust equivalent.

I love sports in general, but no sport will ever surpass the love I have for baseball, especially Rockies baseball.

People always ask me why I love the Rockies so much. I’ll admit that it’s hard at times.

But, maybe it was growing up in the Helton era, where seeing his hands shoot up in the air after catching the last out of the National League Championship series in 2007 felt like winning the lottery.

Maybe it was sharing the heartbreak of losing Tulo in 2015 with other fans and fearing that home games would feel hollow without chanting his name. (They did for awhile.)

Maybe it’s seeing arguably one of the best third basemen in Rockies history, Nolan Arenado, play to his Gold Glove potential every single game.

The Rockies are special, and this season, the rest of the world caught a glimpse of the heart and passion they have simply because they love the game. They’ll—deservedly—win a World Series eventually, but for now, I’ll hang onto the hope and happiness they gave me this past season.

The Rockies will always have a special place in my heart. It’s all very dramatic and emotional, I know. But, so is baseball. If you love it, you know what I mean. And that’s why I love it so much.