The Monday Mommy: My Coors Field Conundrum
” It would be phenomenal as a fan base to collectively boycott Coors Field until ownership changes their philosophies. What a novel concept, don’t give the Rockies organization any money until they start actually spending it on the team. In theory that should work, right? “
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After turning the calendar to March, I am now officially ready for the summer to get here. In my eyes, there is no reason to go through with this whole Spring thing. In Colorado, we get super wet heavy snow, followed by muddy meltdowns and random freezes that ruin any planting that is done for our summer gardens.
One of the good things about this time of year is Colorado Rockies Spring training down in Arizona; that and the fact it is officially too early for them to suck just yet. That’s right, that smell in the Colorado air besides the occasional wafts in from Greeley is in fact optimism for next season’s Rockies.
It happens to the best of us every season, will this year be different? Will Rockies ownership invest in the franchise and actually bring in players that can pitch and play at this altitude? The answer is sadly and consistently no, but until we see it first-hand we can always dream, right?
This brings me to our family’s yearly dilemma, to go or not to go?
It would be phenomenal as a fan base to collectively boycott Coors Field until ownership changes their philosophies. What a novel concept, don’t give the Rockies organization any money until they start actually spending it on the team. In theory that should work, right?
Not in this town. Coors Fields sits in the middle of historic downtown Denver, with ample sunshine and views of the Rocky Mountains from all around the facility. Surrounding the venue are bars and restaurants to suit any ball game patron’s taste level, and most have game day specials making it that much more appealing to head on down on game day.
As a mother of a four year old boy, this boycott is even more difficult. How can we tell our son that we don’t want to support an organization that isn’t committed to winning and progressing as a franchise? Not that it is of any concern to him. All is he wants to do is sit in the sunshine, walk around the stadium and of course look for Dinger.
Many fathers in this town, including my husband, grew up playing baseball and have waited a long time to be able to share the experience with their offspring. How do we expect them to sacrifice that bonding time in order to attempt to get through to the Rockies higher-ups?
Let’s not forget that they strategically placed a playground right inside the stadium, which is of course conveniently located right next to the merchandise kiosk that is exclusively children’s items. I do understand the marketing value in all of it; I am just stating the case for why it’s so appealing to young fans.
As a venue, Coors Field seems to do everything right to please the fans. We can even forgive the harassment received from the elderly ushers while attempting to get closer to the field even when the section is basically empty. If only the Rockies organization would invest that same level of attention and tenacity when it comes to the actual team.
But realistically, they don’t have to. Fans will certainly find reasons to head to the ballpark. Whether it’s simply folks out to get some sun and enjoy the day or those families who attend with young children who play tee ball, baseball and softball in youth leagues; they will come.
When looking over attendance numbers for the franchise I realized just how comfortable these Rockies owners have become. Normally in business one has to spend money to actually make money. Not so much with the Rockies.
In 2012, when our Colorado Rockies were a mere two contests away from losing 100 games in a single season, more fans plopped down their hard earned cash and came to the ball park than in 2007 when Colorado was in the World Series. That’s right Rockies fans, over 250,000 more of you showed up to watch last year’s pathetic season than when Colorado made it all the way to the World Series, the first and only in franchise history.
With numbers like this, why should Rockies ownership even change their mentality? Denver and its surrounding suburbs is a young town. More and more young people are moving to the Mile High city, settling down and creating a future generation of potential Rockies fans.
As long as Coors Field remains such a family-friendly, fun place to watch baseball and party, people will continue to show up. Even if fans had similar mindset’s to myself and wanted to boycott games until we are shown a legitimate commitment to winning, the truth is: we just can’t.
The allure of the ballpark along with the wide-eyed look of amazement on our children’s face trumps every gripe we have with the organization.
Well played Rockies. Well played, indeed.
