One thing is certain; the Colorado Rockies have passionate fans

Don’t tread on Colorado Rockies fans.

Fans of the Rockies are often ridiculed. They are often told that they are more concerned with the social aspect of baseball than the actual results on the field. If the last two days are any indication, Rockies fans aren’t going down without a fight.

Public enemy No.1 has become Rockies owner Dick Monfort over the past few days. First was his interview with Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post, in which Monfort looked awful. Then came the story of the fan email in which Monfort completely disrespected a paying customer by telling him in broken English not to come to Coors Field.

Jeff Aberle from PurpleRow.com wrote perhaps the best reaction to Monfort’s recent string of unfortunate events. His post does an absolutely brilliant job of breaking down the interview with the Denver Post and how it should be a huge concern for Rockies fans. The best part of his breakdown comes near the end when he talks about Monfort’s statements regarding whether the team is a contender or not.

Of course, Monfort says that the team can get back in the race, however, the math on what it would take for the Rockies to even come close to a possible wild card birth makes it such a ridiculous proposition that even Monfort should know that it isn’t going to happen. However, as Aberle points out, the fact that Monfort actually believes that this season isn’t cooked, and that the Rockies might have a chance, screams about Monfort’s lack of baseball acumen.

What has become a reality for Rockies fans is that, while 2007 and 2009 were both extremely fun to watch, as the Rockies climbed out of seemingly insurmountable holes, both of those runs have jaded reality for Monfort. A student of the game of baseball realizes that those two seasons, both with their unique turnarounds, were so much fun not only because of the team’s play, but because of the historic nature of each.

In 2007, for the Rockies to win 14 of their final 15 regular season games, and then sweep their way through the National League playoffs was a ridiculous feat. It is something that has never happened before and will most likely never happen again. Some call it a fluke, others call it a miracle.

If Dick Monfort was the owner of the Denver Broncos, Tim Tebow would still be the starting quarterback. While Tebow’s stretch in Denver was fun, the Broncos had to rely on so many things going exactly perfect in order for them to make the playoffs. It took Marion Barber, the Chicago Bears running back, inexplicably running out-of-bounds when the Bears could simply milk the clock. That was just one of many miracles that the Broncos witnessed in Tebow’s run.

While that was a fun time to renew a passion with the Broncos, the reality was, it wasn’t sustainable. At some point the team had to better itself, and love him or hate him, Tebow wasn’t the answer long-term.

Dan O’Dowd and the Rockies front office have their miracle finish as well. However, it happened seven years ago, and besides a 2009 team that witnessed nearly everything go perfectly after Clint Hurdle’s dismissal, the Rockies have been routinely terrible — not bad — absolutely pathetic.

The moves, or lack-there-of, from Rockies ownership is a story that has been told over and over again. However, the silver lining in Monfort making himself look like a complete fool is that the response may have finally shown him that Rockies fans aren’t just about the party deck. There are some that truly love this team and want to see them not just compete, but win.

The fury on Twitter and Facebook in the past few days has been nothing short of brutal. Fans have been posting their email chains between them and Monfort, news stations have been doing stories on upset fans and scrutinizing Monfort’s responses to them.

The reality is, Monfort believes that he is passionate about the Rockies, but he isn’t really a knowledgeable baseball guy. He probably believes that he is the most hardcore of any fan out there, because he owns the team. So if he is able to have a good night at the ballpark, win or lose, then the fans must be having a good time as well.

What this week’s events have done is to wake him up to the reality that there are plenty of fans who live and breathe this team. There are fans who know far more about the very business that Monfort runs than he does himself. Monfort didn’t seem to realize that in the past. At this point, there is no denying that the message is loud.

For Rockies fans, it seems that the chain of events finally pushed them over the edge. Fans have clearly become tired of the idea that the only way to make changes happen is to boycott the games. They are speaking out in one chorus, and the message cannot be ignored. The status quo simply isn’t alright anymore. Rockies fans have had enough.

It is time for Monfort to fade into the shadows and hire someone who can take an honest evaluation of the club. It is time for this ownership group to finally start to listen to their paying customers and figure out enough about which baseball people are out there who might be willing to take a job like this one and make it happen.

One thing that cannot be denied through this week’s events is that the Rockies have an extremely passionate fan base. If things change in the offseason with the club’s front office, there is no doubt that this week’s fan responses will have been a large reason why.

Rockies fans should be proud of themselves for not laying down any longer.

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