Rosemary Marx, who is 102 years old and has lived in Bogalusa for 100 years, has been a Houston Astros’ fan since the 1980s.
During that time, she has seen her team reach the playoffs 10 times prior to this year, but those seasons have all fallen short of the ultimate goal — winning the World Series.
That all changed on Wednesday night for Marx.
The best-of-seven series was tied 3-3 and the Astros and Los Angeles Dodgers were playing a winner-take-all game.
The Astros entered having never won a World Series and the Dodgers were going for their first title since 1988.
The night was all about Houston.
The Astros jumped out to a 5-0 lead through two innings.
“I just felt like we had it,” Marx said, when asked her thoughts about getting the 5-0 lead.
The Dodgers had traffic on the bases throughout the game, but the Astros pitchers held Los Angeles to 1-for-13 with runners in scoring position. Ultimately, the Dodgers left 10 runners on base. Their hit with runners in scoring position was their only run and the Astros captured the 2017 World Series with a 5-1 game seven victory much to the delight of Marx, who watched the game with friends at a friend’s house.
“I was ecstatic,” Marx said. “I screamed my head off.”
Marx said her favorite current Astros are Jose Altuve and former LSU star Alex Bregman. Her favorite all-time player for Houston is Hall of Famer Jeff Bagwell.
Marx is also an LSU fan, so it is exciting for her to see Bregman playing for the Astros.
Marx’s fandom of the Astros runs through four decades, so she has seen the team with records that range from 51-111 to this year’s 101-61 mark.
“You know, they were really not a good team for a long time, but now they’ve gotten real hot,” Marx said Monday, after Sunday’s 13-12 game five win in 10 innings. “The game last night, I thought, ‘Oh God, how are they ever going to bring this out?’ They did, so they’ve got to bring it back tomorrow night. Believe you me, which I can’t wait.”
Marx had to wait an extra day, as the Dodgers won game six, but not the deciding game seven.
Marx doesn’t know how she became an Astros’ fan. She just said that years ago, she started watching their games.
“I felt like I got real close to them (through watching them on TV). I felt like they belong to me,” Marx said.
Marx has been to a pair of Astros games, both at Minute Maid Park, and tries to catch as many as possible on TV.
The last time she went to an Astros game was for her 99th birthday, and the first time was a few years before that.
“I’m just happy I was really able to be able to go to the Astros’ games when I did,” she said. “The Minute (Maid) Park is a beautiful place. It really is. My whole family came when I was 99. The whole bunch came.”
Marx said the Astros even put “Happy Birthday” on the video screen.
“That was exciting,” Marx said.
Marx is a big sports fan. Marx said she was very active in school, and played baseball and softball. She also danced and bowled.
“I guess that was the beginning of my sports going on when I was young,” Marx said.
Marx kept on, as she got older.
Marx credits her lengthy lifespan to walking regularly.
“It’s one of the best things for health that I think that anybody can do. I attribute that to my good health right now. I really do,” Marx said.
Marx walked five miles a day up until her 80s.
“We had a group that went every morning, 5 o’clock in the morning,” Marx said.
Marx will be cheering on the Astros in 2018 when Houston tries to become the first team to win back-to-back World Series titles since the New York Yankees won three in a row from 1998-2000.
Houston will open the 2018 season on Thursday, March 29, on the road against the Texas Rangers.