With their 3-1 victory over Boston and the Red Sox Nation in Game 7 Sunday night, the Tampa Bay (no longer Devil) Rays have advanced to their first ever World Series where they will face off with the Philadelphia Phillies.

While I feel sorry for the Phillies fans that had to endure the opposing fan treatment (yea, stay classy LA), I will be rooting for my Rays and here are 23 reasons why you should be rooting for them as well.

  1. Worst to First - The Rays are the new Atlanta Braves.
  2. Youthful Exuberance - Phillies starter Jamie Moyer had made his major league debut before David Price or Evan Longoria were out of diapers, but the Rays have not faltered under the prssure despite their inexperience (minus Game 5). Instead, they look like they are having a blast at all times…and they are.
  3. The Comeback - He “spends 4 hours before each game stretching, taking supplements and preparing his body for a pounding it can barely recover from. The kind of pounding that leaves him feeling tired and fatigued 2 hours after scoring from first on a double…Even with his ailments and current physical limitations; he’s still a five-tool outfielder with a cannon arm and serious pop.” Rocco Baldelli has been the best story in baseball as he has fought back from a career-threatening mitochondrial disorder (mitochondrial myopathy) to contribute for TB. [Bugs & Crank]
  4. Excited Fan Base - The Rays’ fan base was criticized throughout the season for empty seats in the Trop, but down the stretch and in the playoffs the fans have boisterously rallied behind the team. In fact, tickets for the ALCS were tougher to get at Tropicana Field than at Fenway Park. [St. Petersburg Times]
  5. Breaking Rules - Not only have the Rays broken the myth that only the big money Red Sox and Yanks can win in the AL East. Rays fans will also get suspended from school rather than shave their Ray-hawk! [Bradenton Herald]
  6. Breaking Rules is Rewarding - After the young boy was suspended from school, he got rewarded with a pretty cool surprise. [Pearls of Wisdom]
  7. The Ray-Hawk - In the St. Petersburg/Tampa Bay area, mohawks are currently being considered a normal and common hairstyle (even for those you wouldn’t expect). When we were at Games 1 & 2 against Boston, the hawks were everywhere. Everyone from babies to kids to college guys to hot girls to old ladies were sporting their own unique versions.
  8. Female Support - Most sporting teams have some female support, but I’ve never seen the females be supportive enough to sport a ‘female Ray-Hawk.’ (which is different than the traditional Ray-Hawk like the one seen above).
  9. You don’t want to be anti-hawk - While sporting a Ray-Hawk makes you look cool, going against the Ray-Hawk makes you look like an idiot.
  10. Not a team to bet against - Just ask Boston Red Sox supporter Jeff Rosenfield. [Bugs & Crank ; Curt's Bloody Sock]
  11. MVPNOPR - That would be Jonny Gomes. Gomes is without a doubt the MVPNOPR (most valuable player not on playoff roster). The former 18th round pick is the Rays’ biggest fan (if it is possible for a player to be his team’s biggest fan). He started the Ray-Hawk, has been the first one in to throw punches in the Rays’ brawls, is the biggest cheerleader in the dugout, and has even wielded an axe…all for his team. PTownFan gives some more reasons: [Bugs & Cranks]
  12. ‘More Cowbell’ - Tampa Bay plays the SNL “More Cowbell” skit with Christopher Walken and celebrates its fans use of cowbells.
  13. A Unique Man - Joe Maddon manages the game differently; he thinks about the game differently; he sees the game differently. Why? Because he’s a unique man with a unique vision. [Sports Illustrated]
  14. Cost Efficiency - The Yankees nearly spent as much per win this season as they did on the entire original Yankee Stadium ($2.3 million to $2.5 million). The Rays, however, had the second best cost efficiency per win in the majors at $452K (Florida only spent $260K per win). [MSNBC]
  15. More than just Mr. Athletic - Yes, Carl Crawford had scholarship offers to play basketball at UCLA and play quarterback at Nebraska (among other schools), but he is more than just a raw athlete. CC speaks with middle school kids, is the only player besides Rogers Hornsby to increase his batting average and home run totals for 5 consecutive years, and, my personal favorite, he is motivated to train harder so that he can be one of the top fantasy baseball players. [Sports Illustrated]
  16. Scott Cursi - The Rays’ bullpen catcher since the team’s inaugural season, Cursi has had to take a beating (not all major league pitchers throw strikes) for 10 years of losing and finally that beating is coming to fruition. [Rays Index]
  17. Record Setter? - On their list of 31.5 reasons to why the World Series is must see TV, ESPN Page 2’s #5 reason: “By this time next week, B.J. Upton may have broken every playoff hitting record in existence.”
  18. Cheerleaders go for Dirtbags, but it’s ok this time - Didn’t it always seem like the hottest cheerleaders were always with dirtbags? Well, this time it’s a positive. Evan Longoria’s nickname is ‘The Dirtbag’ (Evan’s alma mater Long Beach State is known as the Dirtbags) and he’s been linked with a Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ cheerleader. [JoeBucsFan]
  19. Young Aces - “Big Game James,” “Kid K,” “The Nut,” and even “The Duke.” James Shields, Scott Kazmir, Matt Garza, and Andy Sonnanstine are all under the age of 27. Shields, the elder of the group, has a sick change-piece. Kazmir is the most decorated of the group at age 24 even though he has been the worst in the postseason. Garza was lights out in the ALCS. And Sonnanstine just continues to produce despite not having the talent the other three have. Then there’s that lefty that is coming out of the bullpen.
  20. King David is taking his throne - We are being fortunate enough to see the first stages of the Hall of Fame career (yes…Hall of Fame barring a significant arm injury) of King David Price. This year: closing games in the postseason. Next season: starter and Rookie of the Year. The following season: All-Star.
  21. Party Time - When the Rays’ win, they definitely know how to celebrate. TB’s celebration of winning the ALDS over Chicago in comparison to Philadelphia’s celebration of beating Milwakee in the NLDS: Tampa Bay’s rugrats made Philly’s bash look like an absolute tea party. [Big League Stew]
  22. Don’t take @#$% - The Rays proved in Spring Training and later in the season against Boston that they don’t take @#$% from anyone. They’ll even fight amongst themselves (ala Matt Garza and Dioner Navarro), but they won’t take @#$%.
  23. Nasty Knobbs will choke you out if you don’t - Dick Vitale, Hulk Hogan, and Lil’ Wayne were all on hand for Game 1 of the ALCS to root on the Rays. So was former professional wrestler and member of the champion tag team The Nasty Boys, Brian Knobbs. He is one of the Rays’ biggest fans attending several games and shooting promotional videos for the team. He even got kicked out of Fenway last week, and you don’t want to get choked out by Nasty Knobbs (like I did last weekend after Game 1 - It was all in good fun and Knobbs even jokingly asked me “Is this going to end up on TMZ?”)

There are surely several other reasons to root for the Rays (including because I worked for one of their minor league organizations last summer), but these 23 should be enough to sway any baseball fans still sitting on the fence.

Nevertheless, if you have a worthy reason, add it in the comments or use our Contact Page and e-mail us your reason.

Shotgun Spratling

p.s.: Also, it’s our season…

YouTube Preview Image

Rate this:
3.0 (1 person)

If you enjoyed this post, you might also enjoy these related posts: