ROWDY TIME SPORTS

Wow. Who knew the Rangers had a problem with squatters?

Opening Day brings a sense of renewal and hope to baseball fans everywhere. But for the Rangers, it has also brought a bit of controversy.

Even before their season officially began, the team announced that they would be taking drastic steps with their parking for Friday’s home opener against Josh Hamilton and the Angels. Fans would have to present an actual ticket to the game in order to purchase a spot in one of the Rangers’ parking lots.

There has been a bit of outrage at this among some fans and media members. How dare the Rangers ban the lots to anyone who… Just wants to sit around in the lot all day and get drunk without actually going to the game?

I know I’m a Rangers homer, I know I can be more lenient with Rangers management than other teams. But I just can’t see how this can be such a problem.

According to Rangers vice president Rob Matwick, the team had a huge problem with parking during Opening Day last year. Some fans missed the first three innings of the game because of how long it took them to find a parking space, and those people were pissed. I can’t blame them.

Opening Day is one of the few games of the year I choose to drive to. I still remember a few years ago, I got to the Ballpark grounds between 9 and 10 am for a 1 pm start time, and I barely made it into the stadium on time. And that was before the 2010 pennant made people throw off their Cowboys jerseys and claim to be Rangers fans.

In other words, all of a sudden people who aren’t even aware that Kevin Elster once hit a grand slam off Manny Alexander can’t squat on Rangers property and claim “I was at Opening Day!” without actually having a ticket. Boo hoo.

If I buy a ticket, if I paid my money for the right to enter the Ballpark for the one game I look forward to more than any other, now you’re saying I can be denied the ability to use that ticket because I wasn’t able to leave the house at five in the morning and get to the Ballpark at six just to secure a parking space?

Sorry, THAT’S more unfair than saying a bunch of people who didn’t buy tickets can’t take over the grounds.

If I have to risk my car getting towed from parking at Lincoln Square, Wal-Mart or JerryWorld just to use my license to attend the game, I’m not gonna feel for a bunch of people spending the day doing nothing but drinking in the lots taking up spaces.

And this is not just a handful of people These are hundreds, maybe thousands, who take up multiple spaces for one vehicle to roll out their super grills, not even courteous enough to use the grass space within the lots for their gear. That would be rude enough if they were actually going to the game. But these are people who may never set foot on the Ballpark grounds again until October. and probably never saw a Rangers game before Nefti Feliz struck out ARod looking.

The Rangers have had parking issues since the Ballplak opened in 1994. The bandwagon fans have only made the situation worse these past few years, and they finally had to take a stand to maintain order For at least this one day.

And for the record, barring a miracle, I won’t be at this game this year. It will be the first time I won’t see Opening Day since 1993, and it’s tearing me up inside.

I may still show up around the Ballpark, going there on my own two feet. that will be perfectly legal. But I won’t impose on the team by taking a parking spot someone else has a better use for.

A bunch of people who want to impose put the Rangers in a no win situation. But they made the right choice in putting their ticket holders over the squatters.

Filed under: Rangers, Uncategorized | Tagged: baseball, fans, opening day, parking, rangers |