‘Wouldn’t miss it for the world’: Rangers fans celebrate years of fandom at victory parade

Abraham Robles couldn’t sleep the night before Friday’s World Series victory parade.

He arrived at Globe Life Field in Arlington at 1:30 a.m. to get a seat right next to the stage where Rangers players and coaches made speeches after the parade.

“I’ve been waiting 27 years for this since I started watching them,” he said.

Robles, 36, of Dallas, was among the roughly 500,000 people who packed the 1.9 mile parade route around Arlington’s entertainment district Friday. Some camped out overnight in temperatures in the low 40s, but all said it was worth it to be a part of history.

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The Rangers secured their victory Wednesday night after beating the Arizona Diamondbacks in five games.

Robles started coming to Rangers games when the team still played in Arlington Stadium. He remembered sitting in the left field bleachers with his dad and grandfather.

The Texas heat made those aluminum bleachers uncomfortable, but Robles said he didn’t care.

“You came out anyways cause you wanted to see them play. You wanted to see them win,” he said.

Robles never thought he’d see the Rangers win a World Series, but broke down and cried after seeing the final out at the watch party at Globe Life Field.

“I get to live in a world where my boys get to see the Texas Rangers become champions. That’s a big deal,” he said.

Arlington resident Nancy Chapin, 65, raised her three boys watching Rangers games. They were there in 1993 during the infamous fight between Hall of Famer Nolan Ryan and Chicago White Sox player Robin Ventura.

She remembers going to the World Series in 2010, and how happy it made her son being there.

“He was pinching me and saying I can’t believe we’re at the World Series,” she said. Chapin got to Globe Life Field roughly five hours before the parade was set to begin.

“It was important to save space for my boys,” she said.

Edgar Bernard, 62, and his son Cory used to get to Rangers games early to watch batting practice and hopefully get a souvenir ball from one of the players.

Friday’s parade was special because of the bond the two formed coming to Rangers games.

The Rangers weren’t able to win the World Series in 2010 and 2011, but after winning the series this year, the elder Bernard said the two had to come with his son to celebrate.

“We wouldn’t miss it for the world,” he said.