Syracuse, NY . . . and I've NEVER met another Astros fan (except the occasional
Texan). It's real lonely "watching" a game on the internet via
batter-by-batter updates on cnnsi.com. The only games I get to see are when
they play the Mets, the Braves, or if they land a Sun, Tues, or Wed night gig
on ESPN.
I saw a guy wearing an Astros hat in a bar in Syracuse one night and I was
psyched . . . I said something to him and he had no idea what I was talking
about . . . he thought it was some company's logo or something. It's gonna
piss me off though if the Astros win the pennant and all of a sudden everyone
you talk to is "a long-time fan . . . I was there through the dark years." If
I see that, I'm gonna demand to see some rainbows - - that'll settle it.
Any other remote location fans feeling isolated?
______________________________
DEATON ====================
***************************************
Well, I live in Arlington, Texas, and I feel pretty isolated. Though
there are quite a few Astros fans around, there are, for obvious reason,
many more Rangers fans around. I imagine I get to see the Astros more
often than you, though, since I do get most of the Fox Sports SW
broadcasts in addition to the FOX network or ESPN games.
john e. mears, jr. <rang...@webtv.net> wrote in article
<26461-35...@newsd-121.bryant.webtv.net>...
> I have now relocated to Houston, TX. Because of my job. Where are the
> rest of you from?
>
> John
>
> Go Astros!!
>
>
>Where are the rest of you from?
Right here in Houston. And I've been a fan since the rainbow era -
first game attended was 1980, and Neikro was pitching. I actually have
a photograph of the old scoreboard lit up, from someone's homerun.
*sniff*
Kicking around at home somewhere is a buckle from a giveaway night when
I was a kid (gads is it cheesy :) along with stadium cups and some other
memorabilia.
I hope to goodness that we don't have a bandwagonning effect of
migratory
fans as a result. It's cool to have new fans come aboard, but they
better
stay, if they do! (Shah, right ;)
I'd urge anyone thinking about it, to buy their tickets early for the
Cubs and Cards series - those will sell out soon! Also, I wouldn't
wait for Monday to call the Astros ticket office to get tickets to
Johnson's first game. There's supposed to be a press conference around
4:oo
this afternoon, and they might announce when he'll start next. The
Astros'
website has online ordering forms. Use those to beat the
non-internet-savvy
crowds ;)
-Holly
--
"Brevity is the soul of wit, and the essense of lingerie."
-George Will, commencement address to Washington University 15.5.98
>>Where are the rest of you from?
>>
>>
>
>Syracuse, NY . . . and I've NEVER met another Astros fan (except the occasional
>Texan). It's real lonely "watching" a game on the internet via
>batter-by-batter updates on cnnsi.com.
>
I'm living in Atlanta. I listen regularly to the Astros broadcasts via
their webpage, www.astros.com. You can link to live audio from that
site and listen to the Astros live radio broadcast for every game for
free. All you need is real player (which is a free download) and a
good idea is to have an unlimited time account from your ISP.
Mike
>
> > I am from Palestine tx and have been an astro fan from the time they were
known as the colt 45s. My stepfather was a big baseball fan and would take me
to the games. I still remember those rainbow uniforms. go astros. Elaine
>
>
>
>
> >
>
> >
> > ______________________________
> > **************************************
>
-----== Posted via Deja News, The Leader in Internet Discussion ==-----
http://www.dejanews.com/rg_mkgrp.xp Create Your Own Free Member Forum
jimr6 wrote in message <6pvpil$b...@sjx-ixn5.ix.netcom.com>...
> I'm living in Atlanta. I listen regularly to the Astros broadcasts via
> their webpage, www.astros.com. You can link to live audio from that
> site and listen to the Astros live radio broadcast for every game for
> free. All you need is real player (which is a free download) and a
> good idea is to have an unlimited time account from your ISP.
> Mike
I live in Austin and I listen to the games from their
webpage via real audio as well. Can you believe
there is no radio broadcasts in Austin, it's criminal
I tell ya. As far as monitoring pitch by pitch, I've
found CBS SportsLine at: http://web2.sportsline.com
to be the best in sync with the audio broadcasts.
I grew up in Houston and have always been a fan
going back to the days of Jimmy Wynn, Rusty Staub,
Doug Rader, Don Wilson, Joe Morgan and Larry
Dierker.
-Sphinx
I am praying for redemption this year for the Astros. Not for last year, the
stros pretty much played to their level. But for the years of 1980 and 86.
Watching the Astros losing those championship series was a forge for a
righteous Astros fan.
Kern
> Can you believe there is no radio broadcasts in Austin,
> it's criminal
Ding, ding, ding! No longer true. This afternoon on 610,
it was revealed that a station out of Gonzalez started
carrying the games at mid-season, and the broadcast does
reach Austin. I believe it was KCIT at 106.7 FM - FM,
meaning you can listen to it inside buildings (heh, I
can't even do that here on AM locally ;)
And if you include the Cowboys, Dallas is a REALLY REALLY lame sports town.
"Why do today what you can put off till tommorrow."
Is there an Astros affiliate radio station in Nacogdoches? About to go to SFA,
really want to listen to my 'Stros. What about TV do you get FOXSW in
Nacognowhere?
> Is there an Astros affiliate radio station in Nacogdoches? About to go to SFA,
> really want to listen to my 'Stros. What about TV do you get FOXSW in
> Nacognowhere?
There's are affiliate stations in Crockett (92.7 FM), Livingston (1440
AM),
Tyle (1330 AM), Madisonville (1220 AM) and Shreveport (1300 AM). No idea
if these carry to Nacogdoches. Check the Astros' website.
Of course not, as long as you stay with us. I started following the Astros
when I was 11 years old because they acquired my favorite player, Nolan Ryan,
and I've never looked back. I think that's how most non-local fans are
developed, through following favorite players.
The fans that piss me off are the ones that will be self-proclaimed die-hards,
who won't be heard from if the Astros have a sub-par 1999. (actually isn't
this a rent-a-team system kind of like the rent-a-player concept?) :)
______________________________
DEATON ====================
***************************************
We got the Big Unit! Atlanta is TOAST!
------------------------------------------------------------------ Dave
La Porte, Texas
I generally don't think much of ESPN, but this little Java utility is
exceptionally well done.
--
----------------------------------------------
Curtis Thetford
Houston, TX
thet...@cheerful.com
Brantley30 wrote in message
<199808011616...@ladder03.news.aol.com>...
>
>I hope to goodness that we don't have a bandwagonning effect of
>migratory
I kind of hope we do. I wouldn't mind seeing 40,000+ a game for the rest of
the year. It might loosen Drayton's purse strings even more in the off
season.
>fans as a result. It's cool to have new fans come aboard, but they
>better stay, if they do! (Shah, right ;)
The all won't, but every time the banwagon come by, a few more people stay
on it for good and a few of their kids become life-long fans, then one day
we'll find that Houston has become a baseball town.
>
>I'd urge anyone thinking about it, to buy their tickets early for the
>Cubs and Cards series - those will sell out soon! Also, I wouldn't
There's an exciting proposition! I would be disappointed at anything less
than 45k/game for the series, but do you think they could sell out? What
does the dome hold - about 60,000 now? I'm kind of wondering if the playoff
games will even sell out?
R C
***************************************************
GO COWBOYS!!
GO 'STROS!!
GIVE ME ALL YOUR HOTWHEELS!!
http://members.aol.com/Rcasti8526/cowboys.html
********************************************
>But for the years of 1980 and 86.
>Watching the Astros losing those championship series was a forge for a
>righteous Astros fan
I say:
I can still feel the pain in my heart from those 2 play-off years. Gave me a
deep-seeded resentment of the Phillies and Mets that lasts to this day.
Actually, 1980 was the year I jumped on the bandwagon. Had my firstborn in
Oct. of that year, during the play-off with the Dodgers to determine NL West.
Used an Astros cap as my focal point for Lamaze breathing, and listened to the
game in the labor room. Alas, my now-17-yr-old daughter is NOT a fan, despite
that influence on her "birth"-day.
As much as I remember the pain of losing that year, I also vivdly recall
feeling so jazzed by the prospect of going to the Series. Each and every
season since then, hope springs eternal to experieince that again.
Carol<from Houston, and having no memory of the labor pains that championship
year!
fred
In article <35C37781...@mugs.net>,
"Holly J. Sommer" <som...@mugs.net> wrote:
> Someone (I lost attributions and the original post) wrote:
>
> >Where are the rest of you from?
>
> Right here in Houston. And I've been a fan since the rainbow era -
> first game attended was 1980, and Neikro was pitching. I actually have
> a photograph of the old scoreboard lit up, from someone's homerun.
> *sniff*
>
-----== Posted via Deja News, The Leader in Internet Discussion ==-----
> And, I was a little off on the Gonzales (z?) station - it's on
> 1450 AM and 106.3 FM. Does the San Antonio station at 1160 AM not
> carry to Austin?
Amazingly, the flagship station 610 comes in as well as
any other, which is not saying much. Lots of static...
fades in and out... night-time mexican radio interference...
I haven tried the Gonzales station yet, I'll try it today
but I'm not optimistic.
I've nothing at all against the Texas Rangers, whom
they broadcast on radio, on one of Austin's larger
AM stations, but why them and not the Astros?
There isn't one station in Austin who'll touch the
Astros. That's baffling. I really don't understand
the business I guess. It seems that if it is a bold
programming move to broadcast the games of a
second rate, underachieving, transplanted,
American League team; that aside from one post
season appearance and a few no-hitters, has been
an exercise in futility, then wouldn't it be a
no brainer to broadcast the games of the more
successful home grown NL team? If it's good
strategy to broadcast the games of the team that
keeps it's minor league affiliates out of state then
what a novel idea it certainly would be to feature
the broadcasts of the team that has it's AA affiliate
planning a move to this very city. It stinks!
The only possible explanation might be traced
back to Nolan Ryan or something.
-Sphinx
> I can watch Astros on Foxsports if the Rangers are not playing too.
That is one advantage on the DSS system which will put the Astros game
on an alternate channel (here in the Dallas area) so you can watch
either on the rare ocassions that Fox Sports SW has the Rangers and
Astros on at the same time.
I'm not sure on the radio question. I haven't tried too hard since I can
get the broadcasts over the net with better quality. As for FOXSW, yes.
Loud and clear. Also, we have a roving station of sorts that sometimes
shows the Astros (usually the Rangers instead, though) as well.
> I've nothing at all against the Texas Rangers, whom
> they broadcast on radio, on one of Austin's larger
> AM stations, but why them and not the Astros?
This was covered briefly on 610. There was a caller from Austin who
just went nuts on the air when Grenato said there was a station
out there which carried them. He explained that it had something to
do with the (governor??) being a former Rangers' owner. *grin*
While I was at UT, the Astros weren't on TV, but you could pick
up 740 AM just fine. I'd petition KLBJ's AM affiliate to carry them :)
Tyler now, but originally from Houston and remember (vaguely) when the dome
was built. The local AM station listed as being on the Astros network is a
joke. I live south of town about 6 miles and cannot pick up 1330 AM KGLD.
When I do as often as not they don't broadcast the games!!
I bought a satellite dish and got on the internet so I can follow them
anywhere anytime.
Go Stros,
RB
Glad to see the Astros finally wheeling and dealing with the big boys. I
have to admit, the eighth inning of today's game really showed me something
about this team.
My dream series in the Dome has the Astros and Padres playing -- on "Retro
Night" in their uniforms from 1977...
Bud
> My dream series in the Dome has the Astros and Padres playing -- on "Retro
> Night" in their uniforms from 1977...
Yikes! I could take *either* the rainbow stripes, *or* the brown Padres
uniforms, but not both at the same time :) It would clash with the
seats and astroturf something fierce ;)
john e. mears, jr. wrote:
I have now relocated to Houston, TX. Because of my job. Where are the rest of you from? John Go Astros!!
I'm a displaced southern Texan who now lives in the Bay Area of
California. Fan since '86.
-Andy
Scott
Andy Hernandez wrote:
--
Scott B. Husted
Marketing and Administrative Manager
Riegel Federal Credit Union
http://www.riegelfcu.org
ICQ# 4395450
It could easily be that KVET carries the Rangers rather
than the Astros because they have a better deal for the
stations picking up the broadcasts (local ad time or
whatever) or that the Rangers network is easier to deal with.
Certainly I would prefer that they carry the Astros as well,
but that doesn't mean that I think that there was anything
sinister behind the decision.
>
>There isn't one station in Austin who'll touch the
>Astros. That's baffling. I really don't understand
>the business I guess. It seems that if it is a bold
>programming move to broadcast the games of a
>second rate, underachieving, transplanted,
>American League team; that aside from one post
>season appearance and a few no-hitters, has been
>an exercise in futility, then wouldn't it be a
>no brainer to broadcast the games of the more
>successful home grown NL team? If it's good
>strategy to broadcast the games of the team that
>keeps it's minor league affiliates out of state then
>what a novel idea it certainly would be to feature
>the broadcasts of the team that has it's AA affiliate
>planning a move to this very city. It stinks!
The minor league franchise move wasn't in place before
the start of the season. Chances are that when the
Jackson Generals move to Round Rock (in 2000 probably) that some
local station will pick up the Round Rock AA games and some
other station will pick up the Astros, but only if
they can do it cheaper and with better results than with whatever
format they currently carry. No Astros radio affiliate
around here has kept going for any decent stretch of
time, so it has no history of working. BTW, there are
only three affiliated minor league teams in Texas anyway,
and they are affiliates of the Brewers (El Paso), the Angels
(Midland), and the Dodgers (San Antonio). I don't recall the
Astros ever having a minor league team in the state, though they've
had Oklahoma City and now New Orleans in the five-state area.
>
>The only possible explanation might be traced
>back to Nolan Ryan or something.
>
>-Sphinx
Visit Bob's Texas World at http://web.wt.net/~bob/bob.html
--
Visit Bob's Texas World
http://web.wt.net/~bob/bob.html
Other fond memories....
Watching Ryan's 5th no-hitter on NBC GOTW.
Art Howe smacking two homers to beat LA 7-1 in one game playoff.
Mike Scott's no-hitter to clinch 86 NL West Title.
That extra inning game in the 1986 NLCS, where Billy Hatcher hit the
home run.
I became an Astro's fan because I was a Ryan fan when he was with the
Angels and stayed with the Astros after he left. Its finally paying
off.
In article <35c728b1...@netnews.worldnet.att.net>,
no...@blackwater.com wrote:
>I am from Richmond, VA. Astro's fan since 1980.
Albuquerque, NM. Formerly Houston and Austin (1977--1989).
> The first game I
>watched was an early-1980 extra inning affair between the Dodgers and
>the Astros where Nolan Ryan hit what I think was his first career home
>run.
My first game was in the Summer of '77. The boys sucked bigtime in those
days, so one of the gimmicks was the Friday Night Foamer. For these
events, if either of the following:
(1) an Astro hit a home run, or
(2) one of a select number of opposition hitters struck out
occurred during in an odd minute on the game clock, it was free beer for
the *entire dome crowd*. (I might add that back in '77, the drinking age
was 18 in Texas...)
Of course, the opponents were the Reds and Johnny Bench was one of the
designated Foamer targets. He struck out at 8:01pm. It was pandamonium
for the rest of the night.
cheers,
john
--
Dave
ave...@nciradio.com
Brantley30 <brant...@aol.com> wrote in article
<199808011616...@ladder03.news.aol.com>...
> >Where are the rest of you from?
> >
> >
>
> Syracuse, NY . . . and I've NEVER met another Astros fan (except the
occasional
> Texan). It's real lonely "watching" a game on the internet via
> batter-by-batter updates on cnnsi.com. The only games I get to see are
when
> they play the Mets, the Braves, or if they land a Sun, Tues, or Wed night
gig
> on ESPN.
>
> I saw a guy wearing an Astros hat in a bar in Syracuse one night and I
was
> psyched . . . I said something to him and he had no idea what I was
talking
> about . . . he thought it was some company's logo or something. It's
gonna
> piss me off though if the Astros win the pennant and all of a sudden
everyone
> you talk to is "a long-time fan . . . I was there through the dark
years." If
> I see that, I'm gonna demand to see some rainbows - - that'll settle it.
>
> Any other remote location fans feeling isolated?
>
>
> ______________________________
> DEATON ====================
> ***************************************
>
Scott
Marc J. Stephenson wrote:
> It could easily be that KVET carries the Rangers rather
> than the Astros because they have a better deal for the
> stations picking up the broadcasts (local ad time or
> whatever) or that the Rangers network is easier to deal with.
> Certainly I would prefer that they carry the Astros as well,
> but that doesn't mean that I think that there was anything
> sinister behind the decision.
Of course. I never insinuated anything sinister. Why is
it, that the Astro's have failed? I've only lived in Austin
for 4 years. Once some FM country music station carried
them but they never promoted the broadcasts or carried
the post game show. For the past two years, nada. What
Austin stations carried them previously? KLBJ?
-Sphinx
Regarding the insinuation, I was referring to the suggestion that having
George Bush in town made KVET choose the Rangers over the Astros. No big
deal.
It's been quite a long time since an actual Austin radio station carried
the Astros (as opposed to Georgetwon, Granger, etc.) and nobody has done it
for an extended time. That's why I suspect that something is in (or lacking
in) the agreements between stations and the Astros network which makes it less
lucrative for some local carrier to pick them up rather than the Rangers.
On the other hand, the Rangers haven't been carried much here over the last 20
years either. It's just that KVET-AM picked them up and kept them (and now that
Capstar owns KVET and the Capstar owner (Tom Hicks) owns the Rangers, they're
likely to stay there). The turning point in this whole deal was when KVET
decided to increase their sports presence and chose to carry the Rangers over
the Astros, and at least (KVET announcer) Bill Schoenning is irritated by the
Astro fans who ask why that was the case.
Sorry to have lost Guillen to the Mariners, but to get that really tall
pitcher,we had to give up someone of value.
As to the player to be named, I was hoping it would be Russ Johnson. He's MLB
ready, but there's no place for him on the Houston roster. He doesn't have
much in the way of power, but does everything necessary to get on base - a
perfect lead-off man- well, just what the Astros already have. In local
interviews one can tell that he is frustrated at being stuck in the minors.
However, it is assumed that the other player we'll lose is LHP John Halama.
He's a very good pitcher who played in last year's AAA All-Star game and was
selected to this year's; however his elbow started giving him trouble in late
June so he didn't participate.
Halama had his first start off the DL last night against Las Vegas. He was on a
strict pitch count (50-55). His line:
4 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 4 Ks
1 run scored after an error by 2B Casey Candaele.
The other run, earned, was from a 4th inning HR that the announcer said
wouldn't have gone out of Zephyr Field.
elizabeth
new orleans
Dave
>I became an Astro's fan because I was a Ryan fan when he was with the
>Angels and stayed with the Astros after he left. Its finally paying
>off.
Same here . . . and I became a Nolan Ryan fan in the late 70s after reading a
book about him, focusing on the no-hitters, that was in my 2nd grade classroom
bookshelf . . . anyone remember this or know what it was called?
As I stated in a prior post, it is very lonely being an Astro fan in Syracuse.
I've yet to meet another Astro fan aside from the vacationing Texan (yes, in my
entire life). Imagine having no one to talk to when we got RJ . . . everyone
looked at me funny and said, "And why do you care about this?"
______________________________
DEATON ====================
***************************************
I have run into a few people wearing Astros hats around here. One guy had
no idea what I was talking about when I asked him if he was a fan. JERK!!!
Another guy I met at the University was a fellow Houstonian who prouldly,
and justly, wore an Astros hat! He was cool.
It's been great fun the last 2 years with the Astors winning the NL Central
pennant in 1997 and having the Astros simply dominating the NL Central this
year. Too bad Big Mack didn't sign with a team with a chance of winning it
all, like the ASTROS! Die Redbirds! DIE!!!
Houston Rocks!!!
I like the AOL news headline: "Yeltin fires
the entire government".
Hmmm I wonder if......
I'm a native Houstonian.. but, I'm living in Hawaii (Big Island) now.
I lived in Tucson when the Toros were still part of the Astros' franchise
- that was so cool being able to see the young guys before they made it to
the big leagues!! Of course, now they all seem to be playing for other
teams. oh well!
& before Hawaii, I lived in Chile where I felt like the only baseball fan
in South America.. even the other Americans I met down there didn't like
baseball. <sigh>
but now, all is well again since there's at least baseball on the TV &
radio... I still haven't met any other baseball fans over here though -
let alone Astros fans. Though my husband will root for the Astros when his
Expos aren't involved in the game..
Go 'Stros!!
Pat Perez
> Hi y'all -
>
> I'm a native Houstonian.. but, I'm living in Hawaii (Big Island) now.
Cool! I was at the only pro baseball game every played in Hawaii. It was the
Padres vs. the Cardinals at Aloha Stadium a couple years ago, preseason.
First time I'd seen Caminiti since he was traded.
Aloha,
Cool stuff. Thanks for sharing it. Some gangs like the Astros star
symbol, esp. on the Hats, and use them for gang colors, unfortunately.
Still some Dallas Cowboys (ugh) fans like the logo as it is similar to the
Cowboys, and wear it sometimes or mix it up (duh). Another thing we are
beginning to see are the AStros BANDWAGON fans. I never thought I'd see
the day ;-)_ I've been a long-suffering, but loyal, Astros fan for 19
years. At one point, you couldn't even get fans to fess up to being Astros
rooters! (maybe 1991-1992?; or some lean late '80s years, esp. after the
Nolan Ryan free-agent debacle). My feelings about these new bandwagon fans
is that they are inevitable. Therefore, I don't mind them AS LONG AS THEY
NOW STAY ON THE BANDWAGON. Once they jump back off b/c Randy Johnson
leaves or the Astros blow it or something, THEN they will feel our wrath,
eh? ;-)
JJW