We won, but we got cheated: Why this Texas Rangers season was all just a blur to fans | Opinion

The Texas Rangers are champions.

And we were cheated.

One of the greatest pro sports teams in Texas history won the World Series, our dream for 51 years.

Yet until about six weeks ago, almost nobody knew about them.

Adolis García, Corey Seager and this lineup of All-Stars was hidden behind a complicated TV package, viewable only over a VPN or with some double-secret streaming hocus-pocus.

Bruce Bochy, tempered son of a World War II combat veteran of the D-Day landing, is a sorcerer of the bullpen. His team set not only a baseball record but a pro sports record, winning 11 road playoff games in a row to become the greatest “away” team ever.

Yet he or Seager or José Leclerc might not even be recognized in the checkout line at the Torchy’s Tacos across the freeway from Globe Life Field.

Speaking of which, I know that’s officially named the Tom Landry Freeway. But shouldn’t we also christen the Bruce Bochy Express Lane?

For much of the year, I was explaining to Houston friends why it cost more to buy TCU baseball Horned Frogs playoff tickets than Rangers tickets — around $120.

The immensely profitable but outwardly disastrous Bally’s TV contract had pushed the Rangers into obscurity, at least outside the never-say-die faithful in Arlington.

For months, I kept a lookout in Fort Worth for any sign of Rangers fandom — a T-shirt, a cap, a window decal. Nothing.

In the last week of the regular season, when the Rangers had come out of a tailspin and were clinging to a playoff spot, I finally saw a man in a Tex-Mex restaurant wearing a Rangers jersey.

That’s about when I overheard a restaurant conversation between two guys who in some other city might be baseball fans.

“What happened to the Rangers?” one asked.

“I don’t know,” the other replied. “You never see them on TV anymore.”

Only two weeks ago, I saw General Manager Chris Young having lunch at Prince Lebanese Grill, one of Arlington’s busiest restaurants.

He was wearing a shirt with a Rangers emblem.

Nobody even seemed to recognize him or stopped to say hello.

Don’t blame Rangers fans. They understand RBI and ERA. But not VPN.

Not until mid-September, when the Rangers went on a six-game winning streak, did interest begin to stir, according to web searches tracked by Google Trends.

And it was not until Oct. 16, when the Rangers beat the Houston Astros, 2-0, in the first game of the American League Championship Series that Rangers web searches on Google passed those for news about the Dallas Cowboys.

Now, those urban-chic “City Connect” jerseys with the winged “Peagle” — half saluting the old-time Fort Worth Panthers/Cats, half the Dallas Eagles — are finally showing up around town.

Even though some of the fans wearing them probably don’t know Bruce Bochy from Bruce Willis.

Not coincidentally, it’s been about a month since anybody has sent an email wanting to revive the Fort Worth Cats.

Basically, we didn’t follow the Rangers very much all year, until suddenly we really, really did.

Fort Worth restaurateur Jon Bonnell owns two busy Buffalo Bros restaurants. They’re ranked among the nation’s best college football sports bars.

“This has been a weird season,” he said.

The Rangers went three generations without winning the Series. They left deep scars when they broke our hearts twice in the 2011 championship.

No need to talk about that.

“This year, the Rangers jumped out into first place,” Bonnell said, “but then we all got that ‘Here we go again’ feeling.”

He used to be a catcher like Bochy. Except Bonnell played only up to Little League and Country Day Middle School.

“The Rangers have been through so much for so long,” he said.

“But this last-minute surge has just been electric. I’ve never seen so much interest around here in baseball.”

Finally, the Rangers are kings. Not only of Arlington — of Fort Worth and Dallas, too.

Jerry, see how it’s done?