FanPost

Why I'm a fan of the Tampa Bay Rays

Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

Hey all,

I became a baseball fan long before I grew attached to the Rays, so I'll start my story there.

When I was a young kid, my older brother got me into the wonderful sport of baseball. When we started watching, it was during the Mark McGwire/ Sammy Sosa era. I am from North Carolina, so we really don't have a team very close, so my brother and I became fans of both the Cubs and the Cardinals (because what little kid doesn't like to watch large numbers of dingers?) . Once those two stopped hitting home runs, my brother informed me that it was "against the rules" to cheer for two teams in the same division, and he had chosen the Cubs, who he still cheers for to this day (he flew to Chicago and was in the streets when they won the WS). Since I am intensely competitive, I couldn't choose the same team as my brother, so I began cheering for the Cardinals.

Obviously, this isn't the end of the story, since this is not a Cardinals fan site. Over the next few years, I stopped watching baseball very much, and although I called myself a Cardinals fan, I really only cared when they were playing the Cubs, because like any good brother, I just wanted my brother's favorite team to lose.

Fortunately, the baseball gods had plans for me. My dad's company for most of my growing up years were a corporate sponsor of none other than the Durham Bulls, and so we got free tickets to see the Bulls every once in a while. We would sit three rows back on the first base line, probably 30 feet from the base. It was awesome, and I loved the games, but I had no understanding of farm systems, and had no clue the Bulls were associated with the Devil Rays.

One fateful day, my dad and I went to a game, just the two of us. I'm pretty sure that's the only time I've gone to a sporting event with only my dad (he's not a huge sports guy). And on that day, they were giving out Devil Rays hats to all the kids that came to the park. Once I had the hat, I was hooked. I loved that hat, and I immediately transformed into a Devil Rays fan. Over the next 15ish years, I have steadily gotten more involved with baseball, and now I watch just about every game, and I live and breathe the Rays. Although I regularly attend Bulls games, I still have never had a chance to attend a major league baseball game, but I've started planning a trip to Camden Yards with my wife's cousin, who is an O's fan.

So that's the story of how a kid from NC became a hardcore Rays fan. hope you enjoyed! Rays up!

This post was written by a member of the DRaysBay community and does not necessarily express the views or opinions of DRaysBay staff.