Well, I bought my first Rangers tickets of the season over the weekend! I'll be in Arlington watching the boys on April 10th and 11th...silly college schedule kept me from the opener again. :(

I was able to go to Opening Day 2005, and it was a day I will never forget. I remember getting goosebumps after the flyover during the National Anthem. We ended up losing to the Angels 3-2, but I got to see some pretty cool stuff anyway. Vlad, the man with no strike zone, hit a homer and continued his dominance over the Rangers, and Tex hit himself a homer too. What an unforgettable day!

The Rangers have had some pretty unforgettable moments since I have been a fan. Granted we haven't had a championship of any kind during that time, but we have still been able to see some exciting things. Some of the ones that stick out in my mind are:

Recordbreakers! Can you believe the Orioles led this game in the third inning 3-0? Needless to say, they stopped scoring and we went nuts. Six home runs. Two of them grand slams. How about that for run support?

This was fun. In his first at-bat of his first All-Star game, Hank Blalock hit a home run off of Eric Gagne to put the AL on top. This was a proud moment for Hank and a proud moment for Ranger fans.

Another great All-Star moment. With the AL down 2-1 in the 9th inning, Mr. Clutch himself hit a two-run triple to lead the AL to victory. Of course, all of this happened while he had two strikes on him. I might be crazy, but I'd rather see Michael down 1-2 than up 3-0 in the count. He just seems to thrive in those situations.

Sammy Sosa has done his famous little "home run hop" 609 times, and we got to see him do historic #600 in a Rangers uniform. History!

All I can say is "WOW!" This catch will be at the top of highlight reels forever. Joe Morgan even said it was the best catch he'd ever seen.

I couldn't find pictures of the last two I wanted to remember, so I'll just talk about them. :) The moment that stands out in my mind the most is the game against Oakland in 2004 in which David Dellucci hit a double past Jermaine Dye for a 9th inning 5-4 come from behind win. I remember leaving the room because I was so nervous, but I came back in right in time to see the ball skip by Dye. That game was so crucial for us that year because it put us within two games of first place. Hopes of a playoff berth were dashed in the coming days, though, as we lost key games to Seattle and Anaheim. What happened at our last game that year might be my favorite moment of all. After the last out was punched and we started saying goodbye to the 2004 season, all of the players and coaches proceeded to walk around the ballpark and shake the hands of the fans. They said it was their way of saying "thanks" to all of us, but it was definitely our way of saying "thanks" to them too. The excitement, joy, and hope that season brought us Ranger fans is something that I hope to see again this year.

Here's to another unforgettable season!