On Saturday, more than 100 SMU students traveled to Arlington, Texas to cheer on another team in red and blue uniforms - the Texas Rangers
The Rangers took on the Minnesota Twins in game three of a four-game homestand and did not disappoint.
The winners of the last two American League pennants collected nine RBIs in the first three innings. The Twins did not score until the fourth inning and only accumulated three RBIs.
Interfraternity Council (IFC), the governing body of 10 fraternity chapters at SMU, arranged tickets and transportation with funding from a division of Student Affairs, the First Six Weeks Activities Funding.
The plans for this trip to the ballpark started last spring according to Alex Munoz, IFC’s vice president of programming.
IFC purchased 300 tickets and had 180 students sign up online as of lunchtime Saturday, but only 105 participants had congregated at the Flagpole by the scheduled 1 p.m. departure time.
“For the first event, first time we’ve done this, we had over 100 students come with us. It’s good. We’ll improve upon it next time. It is something we’d like to do again,” IFC President Scott Robson said.
Additionally, the event gives non-Greek students, especially first-years, a chance to interact with fraternity members outside of campus, both at the game and on the buses, Robson said.
Students attending the game were among the first 30,000 to arrive at the ballpark and therefore received a Ron Washington bobblehead doll.
By late Saturday night, some of those 30,000 bobbleheads had already made their way onto eBay, with prices ranging from $0.99 to $50, not including shipping.
In a video released by the team, Ranger’s Manager Ron Washington said, “I really thought they did a good job with the bobblehead. In my wildest dreams I never thought I would have a bobblehead, but I certainly appreciate it. And they did a pretty good likeness.”
As a Fort Worth native, first-year Amy Paschall attended several games to the ballpark with her parents while growing up.
She went to Saturday’s game for an opportunity “to meet a lot of people and have fun.”
While the sky was overcast when the game began, the sun came out after a couple of innings and warmed things up. A few students moved to the shaded concourse to watch the game on TVs located at the concession stands.
Students who attended the event were interested in attending a Rangers’ game with IFC next year.
IFC hopes to plan an even better event for the Class of 2017.
