Open Day brings new hope, enthusiasm for Skeeters

Despite the rain, more rain and the threat of even more rain, the Sugar Land Skeeters began the 2016 season in perfect weather last Thursday.

In fact, the weather was perfect for the first three games, as were the Skeeters. The team is 3-0 at the time of this writing. I was there for the first two games, once as a reporter and again as a fan (with a little reporting thrown in for good measure).  I’ve made all but one Opening Day in the team’s five years.

There is something about Opening Day that’s hard to beat. There is the hope and optimism of a great season ahead coupled with the newness and enthusiasm of a new group of players as they take to the field for the first time together as a team. The fans were there, fired up and ready to go with their game faces on.

Waiting by the dugout during the pre-game ceremonies was exciting. From the National Anthem performed on the saxophone and the giant flag unfurled in the outfield to the aircraft flyover and the unique introduction of the team (including the arrival of the starters on a SWAT vehicle), the Skeeters proved that you don’t have to be in the big leagues to have a Major League launch into a new season.

If there is anything I have learned from the first two games of the season it’s this: I need a better camera, the view from the press box is great and the Skeeters organization is first class when it comes to enhancing the game experience for the fans.

There are so many giveaways, opportunities to win prizes, special between-innings activities and other events to engage the fans that it’s hard not to feel like you’re a part of the team. In fact, I would go as far as to call the Skeeters a fans’ team (along the lines of a players’ coach). While the coaches and players are focused on winning, the organization is all about engaging the fans.

I’ve also notices a metamorphosis of fandom over the years. At first the Skeeters were a curiosity. They were something new to try out. Now, you see hard-core fans. There is an expectation that this team will win. They made the playoffs their second season and went to the championship in their third. Winning is in the DNA of the entire organization.

As important and fun as wins are, however, this team exudes that intangible element that mixes quality and commitment and produces a sense of family and belonging. I’ve been to a lot of ballparks, stadiums and arenas over the years and this is easily one of the most family-friendly and enjoyable places to see a sporting event.

One of the things that really makes it fun is the team mascot, Swatson. He is hilarious, accessible and really spends time with the fans. He can totally crack you up without saying a word! This year he has really come into his own. The level of talent and enthusiasm doesn’t waver through nine innings. He is by far my favorite professional mascot.

It is fair to say that I’m a big Skeeters fan. It’s one of the few organizations I’ve been able to follow since the inaugural game. As much as I like them, my favorite team in any sport and any level is and will always be the Denver Broncos. The Colorado Rockies and the Houston Texans also rank high as favorite teams. But there is something about the Skeeters that will always be special in my heart.

This is the first time I’ve felt like I’m part of the team. Maybe it’s because I’m part of the press corps and I have more access and information than the average fan, but I doubt it. I’ve felt this connection with the team from the get-go. That feeling is ramped up this year and I honestly think it has a lot to do with the front office. Team President Jay Miller has brought a new level of professionalism and fan participation to the Skeeters.

He told me his goal is to lead the league in attendance and to win a championship. If these first few days are any indicator, he is well on his way to doing just that. It is so much fun at Skeeters games that I want to be at Constellation Field – rain or shine!

Awards

Please allow me a moment to brag. The South Texas Press Association held its annual conference recently and I came away a big winner based on my work last year as editor of The Sealy News. The newspaper took first place in General Excellence and Lifestyles Pages. I also won first place for Serious Column Writing and second place for Humorous Column Writing and Feature Writing. We took second place in Page Design and Sweepstakes (based on points earned in the competition).

I hope to be able to continue these award-winning ways here at the Fort Bend Star. Our readers deserve nothing less than the best from all of us here and I hope that’s what you receive.

Give this Skeeters team a big high five

There I was, sitting in Gary Gaetti’s office in the clubhouse at Constellation Field interviewing him for this special section on the Sugar Land Skeeters, trying hard not to come across as a star-struck fan boy.

I’ve interviewed hundreds of celebrities, athletes, politicians and the like over the years, so I’ve learned to control that geeky feeling you get when you meet somebody famous. This, however, was special.

The first time I saw Gaetti, I had no idea who he was. I had just moved to Minnesota and my now ex-in-laws took me to my first Major League Baseball game. It was 1987 and the Twins were hosting the Oakland A’s. The great Reggie Jackson was making his farewell tour with the A’s and it was his last stop at the Metrodome. Gaetti was playing third base for the Twins.

The Twins won the game. They kept on winning and that fall won their first World Series. That year I became not only a Twins fan, but also a baseball fan. Growing up in Colorado, there wasn’t much to root for outside of the Denver Broncos, so I had a lot to learn about the sport. I still have a lot to learn.

When I returned to Colorado, I became fan of the new Colorado Rockies team and was even briefly employed by them as a ticket-taker. Since my move to Texas 10 years ago, I let my interest in baseball slip. It was too hard to keep following the Rockies at a distance and the team hasn’t exactly performed at a level to keep one’s interest. I’ve gone to a few Houston Astros games and even covered a couple games as a photographer.

Five years ago came a game-changer. The Sugar Land Skeeters were born. Wouldn’t you know it; one of my beloved Twins of old was named the manager! I was excited enough to be able to watch the birth of a team. Bringing Gaetti onboard was icing on the cake. We got tickets to the inaugural game and my youngest boys joined the Buzz Brigade and were on the field to welcome the players.

Over the course of the last four seasons I’d guess we have seen an average of six or so games a year. My wife Sandy and I love going to the games. Our boys aren’t into sports but enjoyed the playground or just playing games on their cell phones (insert eye-roll here).

When I applied for the position as editor of the Fort Bend Star, one of the first things I thought about and hoped for was being able to cover the Skeeters. Welcome to a dream come true. Working on this special section has been a huge thrill. Everyone in the Skeeters organization from President Jay Miller and Jay Lucas, the vice president of marketing and public relations, to other front office personnel and Gaetti and his players have been very friendly and accommodating.

Each time I go to the ballpark I get a deep, positive feeling with every person I encounter. There is an intangible vibe or buzz at Constellation Field. There seems to be a feeling that this is the year it all comes together. If the players stay healthy and the big leagues don’t raid the team as hard as they did last season, this could very well be Sugar Land’s first Atlantic League championship team.

I don’t want to jinx the team but rather spread the word that there is something incredible happening here. You don’t want to miss it. Come on out to the ballpark and be a part of something special. At the end of the season you’ll be able to say, “I was there” and “WE won it all!”

This is the Skeeters fifth season of existence – their High Five year. Come on out and give the team a big high five. I think a high five gesture could very well be to this team and the fans what a homer hanky or terrible towel is to other teams. So, come to the ballpark, slap some high fives and root the Skeeters to victory!

A not-so-funny thing happened to me on the way to the office

It’s Monday morning about 6:30 and here I am at my computer at home just starting to write this column.
I would have been at the office doing this were it not for the rain and the floods. Truth be told, I should have written it last week. Call it procrastination or just plain being too busy (I choose the latter) but it didn’t get done until now. Even now, my wife and youngest son are cuddled together on the couch in the living room watching the weatherman on TV telling us the obvious – it’s raining.
Colton’s older brother Luke is still in bed sleeping through this mess. School has been cancelled for the day, so he doesn’t have to get up. Seeing how he is the only one of us still in bed, I think that makes him the smartest of the bunch. We are all pretty sleep deprived and a few extra hours of excused snoozing would do us all a lot of good.
Alas, ’tis not to be for the obscenely busy procrastinator…
It’s almost ironic to be stuck at home on a rainy day when all of my family and friends back in Colorado have been enjoying similar benefits due to snow. They got a lot of it. My Facebook feed was so full of snowy pictures I thought it was Christmas again. I was laughing with (at) them seeing how the weather here was sunny and in the 70s when the storm hit the Rockies. It’s not so funny now.
Flash-forward: It is now about 8:30 a.m. and I have just returned home from my second attempt to get to the office. The rain let up around 7:30 and I was able to sail right up Hwy. 59 from Rosenberg in near record time. I exited at Hwy. 90 like I always do and had no problem driving up the Hwy. 59 frontage road and turning on to Techniplex Drive. That’s as far as I got.
I could see the office about 400 yards away. There was also a lake between me and it. I could see cars parked on Techniplex with water reaching the tops of their tires. So close, yet so far away. Do you have any idea how frustrating that is?
Almost all the work I need to do in order to get this edition of the newspaper out is sitting on my computer desktop. I don’t have any way to access it remotely. The best I can do is write what I can from my computer at home, which is what I’m doing.
At the same time, my nice, warm bed is beckoning me from just a few feet away. Luke is still asleep and Colton has returned to his bed. I’m trying hard to convince myself that my work must get done and sleep can wait. I was at the office nearly eight hours Sunday trying to get caught up but not quite making it. Putting in all these extra hours justifies a little snooze, doesn’t it?
Well, if you’re reading this far it must mean I ignored the call of the pillow and kept writing. It’s just my hope that this writing doesn’t put you to sleep, though it’s OK if you doze. There is nothing profound here this week. This is just my ramblings of my misadventures trying to get to work. It’s also my explanation of why the paper is most likely late this week.
By the time you read this, however, the rains will have stopped and the floodwaters receded and no one will care anymore about the treachery of the big storm. So on that note, I will end here and go contemplate the insides of my eyelids.

Spring is a great time to visit Brazos Bend State Park

If you like nature or just want to get outside and enjoy this beautiful weather we’ve been having, let me suggest a visit to Brazos Bend State Park.
Spring in the Houston area if finicky and fleet and should be enjoyed at every possible moment. I can’t think of a much better place in Fort Bend County to get away and enjoy the great outdoors than at Brazos Bend.
I make my recommendation with a high degree of bias. My son Colton and I are members of the Brazos Bend State Park Volunteer Organization. We spend a lot of time at the park helping people better understand the nature around them. Nature is in abundance at the park and April and May are probably the best times to get out and enjoy it.
Even though the spring weekends at the Brazos Bend are crowded and the camping spots are largely sold out, there are still many ways to enjoy the park. Come out for a few hours, stay all day or, if you can, just come camp. Trust me, its time well spent.
Brazos Bend is known as the home of the American alligator. Although the toothy giants are the star attraction, there is a lot more to see and do than watch the living dinosaurs sunbathe and swim. There are numerous species of turtles, snakes, frogs, lizards, salamanders and other reptiles and amphibians to see, and that’s just by the water.
On land the park has an abundance of cute, furry creatures like deer, river otters, armadillos, raccoons, squirrels, opossums, nutrias, bats, rabbits, skunks, foxes and more.
Aside from the alligators, one of the biggest draws to the park are the birds. There have been more than 300 species of birds documented at the park. Of course, a lot of it is seasonal, depending on migrations and such. There are several mainstays that you can expect to see most any time of year at Brazos Bend. They include herons, egrets, coots, gallinules, vultures, owls, hawks, ibises, ducks, cardinals, blackbirds, anhingas, woodpeckers and so much more.
All of this doesn’t include the abundant species of insects, fish, flora and more to see. The plants and trees are amazing in their beauty and variety. One of the real and rare gems of Brazos Bend State Park is the small prairie preserved there. Very little natural prairie remains in Texas and the park has a portion of it preserved. It really is worth checking out.
In addition to lakes, streams and rivers, Brazos Bend has miles of hiking and biking trails, along with a large camping area that can accommodate everything from rustic tent sites to RVs pads and even screened shelters.
When you come to Brazos Bend, please do not forget to visit the Nature Center. There you will find all kinds of educational displays, park information and snakes and baby alligators that you can touch. One of my favorite volunteer activities is holding the snakes and gators and talking about them while visitors touch them, take pictures and ask questions. We have staff and volunteers who can tell you more about the critters than you’d ever want to know.
The Nature Center is also the starting point for a lot of special programming. It is also home to the gift shop that is run by the volunteer organization. You can get snacks, drinks, books, knickknacks, souvenirs, T-shirts, camping supplies and more. The money raised all gets put back into improvements at the park.
When people come out to Brazos Bend, the main thing they want to see are the gators. It is estimated that there are about 300 adult alligators at the park, though this time of year most people will see anywhere from 10 to 70 or so on any given day.
If you can make it out on a weekday when the crowds are gone, you stand a much better chance of seeing not only more alligators but other wildlife as well. It really is worth a day off from work to walk the trails at 40 Acre Lake or Elm Lake, especially in early to mid morning. Who knows, you might catch a glimpse of the otters!
This is mating season for the gators and most of other natural inhabitants of the park. It’s a great opportunity to hear the male gators bellow or see them splash in the water to try and attract a mate.
Some of the bird mating rituals can be just as interesting and entertaining. Trust me, you will see and hear a lot more on the weekdays than you will when the crowds and the noise send the animals into hiding on the weekends.
Another big attraction at the park doesn’t even belong to the park. The Houston Museum of Natural Science owns and operates the George Observatory at Brazos Bend. It is located in the park but is operated separately from the park. It is open Saturday nights and provides guests a great opportunity to stargaze and see planets and other celestial objects up close.
To learn more about these and other offerings at Brazos Bend State Park, visit www.brazosbend.org. Better yet, come on out and see it for yourself. You’ll be glad you did. The park is located at 21901 FM 762 between Needville and Rosharon.

Spartan baseball team a diamond in the rough

Apparently I made Stafford High School baseball history on my first visit to the school March 29.
At the invitation of Michael Sudhalter, my predecessor here at the Star, who is now the communication director for the school district, I got to be the honorary team captain for the Spartans as they took on the Needville Blue Jays. I thus became the first person in school history to throw out a ceremonial first pitch.
It was an incredible honor to do that. I was even more honored to meet coach Michael Mesa and his team. They’re a great bunch of guys. This is a team that is better in many ways than their 3-9-2 record indicates. Even though Needville won the game 10-6, they were close until the sixth inning when some errors led to Blue Jay runs.
Helping keep his team in the game was senior pitcher Lance Byron, the team’s ace on the mound.
“All year long he’s kept us in every game he’s pitched,” Mesa said.
Byron is committed to playing ball for the Panthers next year at Prairie View A&M University. He is also an Eagle Scout, which tells me he is a leader off the field as well as on.
“Baseball is the very first sport that I played,” he said.
He told me he grew up watching the Houston Astros, where he got a lot of his inspiration. In the short time I got to spend with Byron and his teammates, I became impressed with his work ethic and the wisdom he possesses for such a young man. Sudhalter asked him if being in extracurricular activities helped him in school. He said it does, but more so it helps him in life.

Stafford MSD Superintendent Dr. Robert Bostic (another fellow Eagle Scout) told me that Byron loves working with children and wants to get into psychology.
“Lance is an exemplary student who has shown an amazing ability of balancing academics, athletics and extracurriculars. He’s an outstanding peer to his classmates, and an excellent role model to our underclassmen. I’m very proud that Lance is a fellow Eagle Scout,” Bostic said.
Coach Mesa said he is impressed by Byron’s athletic skills.
“When he’s on the mound, it’s going to be a good game,” he said.
Mesa is also high on catcher Anthony Montilva as an athlete and team leader.
“We’ve got a bunch of good kids and that helps a lot,” he said.
Even though the team is struggling this year, Mesa said he feels the program is on the right track. With a little time and maturity, the Spartans will become the proverbial force to contend with. This is his second year leading the team he once played for. He graduated from Stafford High in 2008 where he was a four-year starter.
“I always knew I wanted to teach and coach,” he said.
He played some college ball and returned to his alma mater to do his student teaching and was later hired as a teacher and coach.
I have a deep respect for people who return to their hometown to engage in their profession, especially teachers. They bring not only a passion for their occupation but a great deal of pride and commitment to the school and a knowledge and love of the people they work with and for. They have a perspective of and commitment to the school that a transplant could never have. They have a pride and a drive to succeed that is probably a notch or two above the average teacher.
I see that in the workplace as well. Hometown business professionals are some of the most inspired, community-conscious and committed people there are. They say that home is where the heart is. I say heart is where the home is. When you know and love the people of your community, you’re going to be more dedicated and committed to making a better life. That’s just human nature.
Last week we ran a story written by Sudhalter about the high number of alums who have returned to work in the Stafford MSD. To have nine people return to the district is amazing. It speaks well of the district and the community. It bodes well for the students who can be confident they are being taught by caring professionals who are dedicated to their success.
That’s not to say that transplants can’t be just as dedicated and capable. It’s just that there is something about being a native that gives you a little more pride and a certain motivation and edge in what you do.
I’ve worked at numerous newspapers in three states. I’ve been most comfortable and most successful at my hometown newspaper, the Longmont (Colo.) Daily Times-Call. That doesn’t mean I’m not dedicated to my job here or providing less of an effort. It means I had a lifelong history there and an understanding of the people and culture that I don’t have here. This is my home now and I’m committed to doing the very best I can. I hope it shows in what I do.
Growing up in Colorado in the days before the Rockies, I really didn’t care much about baseball. I moved to Minnesota in 1987 and attended my first Major League game. The Minnesota Twins beat the Oakland A’s and went on to win the World Series. Playing for the Twins was Gary Gaetti, who is now the manager of the Sugar Land Skeeters. I finally got to meet him the other day, but that is a story for another column.
In the meantime, the Stafford Spartans baseball team has collected another fan. I look forward to great things to come for the team. I wish Coach Mesa and his boys all the best. I also look for great things from the Prairie View Panthers next year. They’ve got a great one coming in Lance Byron.