Texas Rangers Winning World Series 'Means So Much' to Fans, Former Players
ARLINGTON, Texas – Game 5 of the World Series may have been played in Phoenix, but it was hard to tell if you were in Arlington Wednesday night.
Not when there was an estimated 17,000 people at Globe Life Field was a watch party. It was a watch party that was so big that the organization had to add tickets during the day to accommodate the fans in attendance.
They were piled in from section 100 to the 300s just waiting to see history. Fortunately for everyone in attendance, they got to witness just that as the Texas Rangers won their first World Series with the 5-0 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks.
And just like in Arizona, no one involved with the Rangers wanted to leave. The postgame celebration included fireworks and the party spilled outside, with fans hanging on the Nolan Ryan statue and filling Texas Live.
It was a celebration 52 years in the making and the fans didn’t want to miss it.
“Saying the Texas Rangers are world champions means so much,” said Rachel Wimberly, who watched the game from Section 110. “I have been a baseball fan since I was two days old and my folks stopped by my brother’s Little League game on the way home from the hospital. He’s the reason I love the Rangers. I am on Cloud Nine right now.”
Texas fans certainly have been jilted before. No one dares mention 2011 or Game 6 and that was 12 years ago. And the while the Rangers had a good run, this year’s title was a stunner, especially given the Rangers were a 100-game loser just two seasons ago.
That made Wednesday even sweeter for those watching from afar.
“It’s the best thing that’s ever happened,” Euless resident Bob McElverry said. “It’s big for the community, and it’s great for the Rangers. They struggled really bad. We went through a time when it was like a minor league team.”
Rangers fans weren’t the only ones savoring the victory Wednesday night. Former players were reveling in the success, too. Longtime fan favorite Derek Holland watched the game from Texas Live as he was doing broadcast work.
Holland had his chance to win a ring in that fateful 2011 season that saw the Rangers lose to St. Louis in seven games. While he hasn’t pitched for Teas since 2016, he still lives in the area and took part on the Game 2 pregame festivities this year.
“It’s huge,” Holland said. “This is something this fan base deserves. They’ve been waiting for this moment. As a guy that played in the 2011 World Series and not being able to bring a ring for the Rangers, this is unbelievable. I’m so excited. Being a fan and being with the fans out here, this is what it’s all about. Being able to see what the fans were going through was unbelievable.”
Catch up with Inside the Rangers on Facebook, Twitter, TikTok and Instagram.
