By Kool
Editor’s note – This article originally appeared on AstrosConnection.com.
I’m 23. Been following the Astros in Houston for most of my life. But I wouldn’t ever have considered myself a die-hard fan. Not in a million years.
This all changed when I found the Talk Zone.
I went to college in Boston in 1994. We all know how the Stros were back then – Bags broke his wrist, the players went on strike, and another season went down the tubes. MVP? Small victory. Up in Boston, fans were pretty pissed the Sox stunk. But nothing got them more pissed that year than two little words from an Astros follower.
Larry Andersen.
To them, Bags should still be theirs. This was the hometown boy that was pickpocketed by some scrub “National League” team. Peter Gammons went off for two weeks on the subject after the MVP. Thrown away because they already had Wage Boggs and Scott Cooper at 3rd. I mean, Scott Cooper! Coming from these Sox fans, trust me, you almost feel sorry for them (well, not that bad…). You feel for their history, you live it every day in that city. Every Red Sox fan suffered permanent ’86 damage. Sometimes, I do wonder who hates the Mets worse, the Sox or us. Even still, though, those same fans who trash the team are right there the next day, in the rainy seats on Yawkey Way, screaming like banshees for their home team. The most dedicated fan base in baseball. They haven’t won in a million years! How many times could you say you met knowledgeable Cub fans? Once? Nobody follows the Sox because it’s fashionable – they follow the team because they love baseball, and good or bad, most fans stick by them and support them.
Which brings me to the TalkZone.
That love for my hometown team is exactly what I wanted. I wanted to love the Stros as much as these people loved/hated to love the Sox. The biggest disadvantage? I was the only visible Astro follower for 50 miles. You really need other people to share in that psychotic passion for the Houston Astros. That’s when it gets fun. But I wasn’t sure I’d be able to find it.
That’s where the TalkZone comes in (finally).
A simple search at Excite in April of 1998 for “Astros baseball” netted me a couple of meaningful results: Astros.com, ESPN’s Astros coverage, a few Bagwell tribute sites (with pictures!), and a site I hadn’t seen before titled “Kev and Scott’s Astros Connection”. Once I clicked over, you can imagine the reaction I had. Daily reports about my team? Scores, highlights, and unbiased opinions on the Stros? A discussion forum about nothing BUT Astros baseball, with people who knew the game? Wow! These people just plain loved the Stros. They loved to talk all day about the Stros, they posted messages at 4 am on a Sunday to talk smack about the state of the Reds and Pirates. To top it off, they knew this team. Inside and out, for the last 35+ years. Stories about trips to the Dome as kids, then returning the favor to their own kids. Stories about the mosquito problems in Colt Stadium. Stories about JR Richard and Yogi Berra and Lefty’s, stories about the ’80 divisional playoff and Scott’s clincher and Biggio’s 1st home run in ’88. Others tragic, still others glorious. But all of it was beautiful. Because you know then that these people EXIST, no matter where you call home. Funny how perception can change your views.
Now while some names have changed, and others have left, more and more Astro fans flock in droves to the TalkZone. Whether it be talking smack, criticizing some move, fiercely arguing a point, or just lurking, the TZ pasture is ripe with Astro fever. That psychotic passion is there, it exists. And it’s only getting bigger. This unabashed support of the Houston Astros is exactly what the city, the team, the game of baseball needs. Every day you’re gonna learn something new in the Talk Zone, I guarantee it. Educated, loyal fans merit respect from the rest of the league. It’s a heck of a game, and a heck of a team. Astro followers, this is our Freight Train – climb on board, you know you want to. And get psychotic about the best damn team in baseball for the rest of your life.