Faith Day at Coors Field took on a much deeper meaning this year as the Rockies and their fans continue to deal with the sudden death of president Keli McGregor, who passed away in April.
“Faith Day had been going on in other ballparks for several years, and Keli really pushed to have Faith Day here,” Rockies general manager Dan O’Dowd said. “More than anybody it represents how he lived his life. Keli really loved Faith Day.”
Faith Day, in its sixth “season” with the Rockies, featured Grammy Award nominee and multiple Dove Award winner Jeremy Camp performing after the game. But before the game, Camp lead worship and shared his testimony with the team and coaches. Watch an interview with Jeremy Camp
“Faith Day is about keeping things in perspective,” manager Jim Tracy said. “Life has its ups and downs, highs and lows and somewhere in between is normalcy. And it’s good to have that perspective.
“If you look at our season it has been the same way — highs and lows. But some how, we’ve been able to draw strength and carry on,” Tracy explained. “We’ve been hit in the stomach a lot this year, but we have not made any excuses. And Keli hated excuses. I truly believe that we have drawn some strength from him. Look, we lost our president, I don’t know how you can get hit any harder.”
The no-excuses theme resonated in the Rockies’ locker room after the team’s 6–5 victory over the Brewers on Sunday. The Rockies punctuated the ninth inning with drama when they let the Brewers score two runs to tie the game 5–5.
With the bases loaded and two outs, the Brewers’ Corey Hart hit a high popup toward second base where Clint Barmes ran in from the skirt of the infield. But as he positioned himself under the ball a gust of wind came up and blew it just off the tip of his glove, allowing two runs to score and take away Ubaldo Jimenez’s 18th win of the season — which would have set a franchise record.
“I have no excuses for it,” Barmes said. “I should have caught that ball. I took the win away from him. I don’t know,” he added shaking his head.
Standing next to Barmes, Jimenez was talking with a gaggle of reporters, saying, “Any second baseman in the league would not have caught that ball.”
During the Rockies’ pregame worship service, Camp urged the players to be accountable with their lives.
“These guys are on a stage too,” Camp said, “and you have to serve with your heart, not just talk about it. You say you love the Lord, but you have to spend time reading the word and serving.”
Along with the concert by Camp, the Rockies also had several kid-friendly activities set up on the club that included finger painting.
Can we please keep religion out of sports and publicly funded sports parks???