Astros home field win means ‘everything’ to the most hardcore fans

Tony Solis has seen practically everything in nearly 20 years of watching the Astros from the area behind the Crawford boxes. And, on Saturday, he added witnessing a World Series title won on the field.

“It means everything,” Solis said after a round of hugs and a slight sigh of relief once his team recorded the last out. The fans around him went wild, high-fiving and yelling themselves hoarse. Solis just soaked it all in, and all the people who helped get the team to this point.

“This one is for Dusty (Baker),” Solis said, noting the presence he was for the team. “They steadied the ship and kept winning.”

Solis said while the team won, the most faithful of fans like himself who devote themselves by dressing in costume, cheering loudly when games are sparsely attended, welcoming new players by name when they first arrive in Houston, can also savor victory.

“We defend our guys and take the heat, so this feels good for us, too,” Solis said.

Solis also carries on the tradition for fans who no longer can. In his large straw hat, Solis keeps a card for his “tio,” Valentin Jalomo. A fellow rabid fan, well known in Astros circles for his large and groomed to a point moustache, Jalomo died in January 2021 of COVID. He was 81.

“He’s with us,” Solis said after Saturday’s win.

So is Chris Cortez, another big Astros fan, who died in April of stomach cancer, just weeks after burying his own father. Chris was yet another loss, Solis said, though loss might not be the word he’d use. 

“I know he’s here with us,” Solis said, noting Cortez was buried with an Astros jersey. 

After such a great season, though, Solis could remember those lost, but in the context of all the winning all the fans got to share.

“Now is our time,” he said.