Opening Day is one of the best days of the year if you are a baseball fan. The first home game of the season is marked on the calendars of Colorado Rockies’ fans far and wide with many packing the streets of Denver for a day of baseball at 20th and Blake.
The inaugural home game of the year is a borderline holiday for many and is one of the most important days of the year for Colorado sports fans.
Denver Mayor Michael Hancock labeled the day as “Purple Friday” in the city, highlighting the importance of the Rockies first home game within the city.
The City and County of Denver, and the State of Colorado have officially proclaimed today “Purple Friday” and “Colorado Rockies Opening Day!" pic.twitter.com/A64kHOlo8p
— Colorado Rockies (@Rockies) April 5, 2019
For Rockies’ Owner Dick Monfort, Opening Day is one of the best days of the year.
“If you go way back, Keli (McGregor) said Opening Day should be like a holiday,” Monfort said. “I think it’s great. We are going to have one every year. We may not have a playoff game every year, but we are going to have an Opening Day.”
Rockies’ manager Bud Black has always had an affinity for Opening Day, but since becoming the manager in Colorado, he has come to appreciate what it means to Denver and fans of the club.
“What I have come to appreciate is how Denver does it, how the Rockies do it and it’s awesome,” Black said. “I have been here a couple of times as an opponent on Opening Day and I couldn’t really get the feel for it as I do now. Hearing everybody talk about it, the Rockies take great pride in today. I think the city of Denver and the Rockies’ fans (do) as well. It’s awesome.”
While the players, coaches and front office all enjoy Opening Day for various reasons, the fans are the ones that make the day special.
“Ever since I was little my dad would take off work,” fan Charles Martinez said. “I think that’s the case with a lot of people. They take the day off, come downtown. It’s a big gathering… It should be a holiday!”
Martinez has been to nearly a dozen Opening Day’s with his father, Chris, who has made it a family tradition to take the day off work and head down to watch the Rox first home game of the season.
“I think about when I was a kid and I got to go to ballgames with my dad,” Martinez said. “I still have those memories. He will have those memories until he brings his kids. It’s a family tradition that will live on for a long time.”
Additionally, Opening Day represents that start of a new season. Expectations surrounding the Rockies are at an all-time high this year following back-to-back seasons in the playoffs.
While last season did not end how Rockies’ fans wanted it to, the club’s home opener is a fresh start for the boys on Blake and their supporters.
“It’s fantastic,” Fan Will Carpenter said of Opening Day. “It’s what we are experiencing now. Middle of the week, day off. It’s a new beginning to everything, new season.”