Losing in the Land of the Enemy

I am a New York Yankee fan, and had to endure watching them lose the 2010 American League Championship Series to the Texas Rangers.  I must say, my friends and colleagues who follow baseball, and were cheering for the Rangers, have been gracious about the rivalry.  We are able to agree to disagree most amicably.

I really enjoy baseball.  I have been thinking about it this year in a different way:  I have never found myself enrapt in the Texas Rangers.  Quite possibly, because they have not been a very good team until this year, but in the 30 plus years I have lived in Texas, they have had some interesting years:  Certainly when Pudge Rodriguez, Alex Rodriguez, and Nolan Ryan were playing. So, why did I not catch the "spark" of interest for the team?

I can tell you:  I live in West Texas.  In the 30 plus years of living in West Texas, there has never been a year when we reliably and consistently had good TV or radio coverage of the Ranger baseball games.  It is difficult to establish a loyal and interested fan base if there is no access to the team.

Granted, in the last few years, with Satellite and Internet, access has increased. But if the Rangers wanted Texan support, they really needed to be reaching out to Texans, not just to people in Dallas and Fort Worth.  Maybe, with their new deal with Fox, that will happen.  Hmmmm.