With attendance down, scores are up
Just keep calling them Disastros, doom's a winning hand
The Disastros have now won four games in a row and I think our general lack of morale has something to do with it.
During my 20-plus years in Houston, I've never seen the stands so sparse as they are this baseball season. People were bracing themselves for a disappointing season as early as opening day — even Mike Carr, the Astros' most loyal fan, made a good-natured jab at our lousy team (although he now denies it).
I'm very superstitious when it comes to sporting events.
When the Houston Astros made it to the World Series in 2005, I was marooned in the middle of Cardinal country. But I sat in the same chair in my dorm's common room for every game, with my hair styled into the same pigtails and with the same Biggio jersey on.
It worked, until I switched locations to watch the World Series itself. I still blame myself for that sweep. When the St. Louis Cardinals advanced to the Fall Classic the following year, I didn't make the same mistake and the good guys won (don't hate, my Missouri-born grandparents were Cardinals fans, and I root for the Birds when they're not playing the 'Stros.)
Our entire group of friends sat in the same chairs in the same clothes with the same rally hats on for the entire series. No one dared miss a game and risk throwing off the room layout, and newcomers were out of the question. I've never been soaked in more beer — or gotten more compliments on my hair the next day — than when all that superstition paid off.
So I say we don't get carried away by this winning streak (I know it's hard, now Berkie's back). Let's steer clear of the stadium, keep calling them the Disastros and wonder aloud whether many of the players belong in the minors.
It seems to be working like a charm.