Not to Judge, but at Least This Fiasco Had a Purpose

New York Yankee breaks American League home run record in last series of season, so at least college football fans can feel like all that annoyance wasn't for nothing

Author:
Kent Smith
Publish date:
Oct 5, 2022 8:27 AM EDT

In this story:

Arkansas Razorbacks

ARLINGTON, Texas – For what may be the first time in history, the college football world is excited about something Texas has done.

We're not talking the Longhorns or Aggies. Let's not get ridiculous.

When those two hit the national news, it's usually not good food for college football. (See the destruction of the Southwest Conference, disassembly of the Big 12 Conference, bonfires, yell practices on social media, boosters, chants about teams you no longer play, and Johnny Manziel for reference)

Nope. College football fans are beside themselves in excitement because of the Texas Rangers.

Yep. A Major League Baseball team brought a feeling of solace to the college football world.

After two weekends of being interrupted by cut-ins to watch the New York Yankees do everything except hit a home run, the Rangers, who are closing in on 40 games out of the division lead, took one on behalf of America.

Texas pitcher Jesus Tinoco wasted no time in getting this spectacle over. Fans were so ready for this chase to end that when Judge parked a first inning pitch in the left field bleachers, the crowd at Globe Life Field erupted to the point that it sound as if he'd broken the record at Yankee Stadium.

New York Yankee Aaron Judge hits home run to break the AL record of Roger Maris. — New York Yankees right fielder Aaron Judge (99) hits his 62nd home run to break the American League home run record in the first inning against the Texas Rangers at Globe Life Field. (Tim Heitman – USA TODAY Sports)

Now, with the MLB Wild Card round kicking off this weekend, the unwanted cut-ins weren't going to be a problem for a third weekend. However, after college football fans had to put up with the inconvenience, there was relief in that at least it wasn't all for not.

Sure, it would have been better if the shot to tie Roger Maris for the most American League regular season home runs had happened during the first college football interruption followed by a blast to officially break the mark during his following at-bat.

Half of America didn't know the MLB was still playing, much less care enough to break away from their intense addiction to college football, especially in the SEC where Major League baseball teams are in short supply.

Besides, the actual home run record was broken a long time ago, so it was confusing to the masses as to why this was a big deal.

Non-baseball fans who were yanked from their favorite college game who were out of the loop suddenly found themselves questioning whether Sammy Sosa, Barry Bonds and Mark McGwire had their records wiped as part of the steroid era without them noticing.

Even SEC Shorts made fun of how annoying the interruptions were.

But at least this story ends with justification. The record was finally broken.

And as wrong as it sounds, and weird as it may feel to college fans, they have Texas to thank.