On a spring day in Palm Beach Florida in 1995, my life changed forever. Major League Baseball owners gathered and announced two new teams that would begin play in 1998. Franchises were awarded to Phoenix Arizona and Tampa Bay Florida. I remember that day like it was yesterday. I was at work and my wife called. She was home watching the announcement telling me the team in Phoenix would be called the Arizona Diamondbacks. She described the team’s logo and all the details of the announcement.

Up until that point I had been a baseball fan my whole life. For much of that I rooted for the Chicago Cubs. There was just something about those lovable losers and that iconic stadium that drew me in and made me a fan. Wrigley Field was the first MLB stadium I had gone to and I sat in the stands amazed at all that baseball had to offer. Of course, it helped that was during the heyday of Harry Carey and I remember singing at the top of my lungs at the seventh inning stretch.

But on March 9, 1995 my allegiance changed, and I became a Diamondbacks fan. When we moved to Arizona the prior year, we had no idea how much this team would change our lives. I had always dreamed of living in a city that had major league baseball but that seemed impossible. Now, here on my birthday commissioner Bud Selig gave me the greatest gift I would ever receive, a hometown team I could root for.

The next three years seemed to last an eternity as I tried to patiently wait for the Diamondbacks to take the field. I would drive to downtown Phoenix almost weekly to see the progress on building the stadium. I went to the temporary team shop at the Arizona Center picking up anything new that had come out since my last visit. I took my kids down to America West Arena shortly after the announcement of the team and stood in the rain waiting to put down a $50 deposit towards season tickets.

In November 1997 I took the day off from work to go down to the Phoenix Convention Center where Major League Baseball would hold the expansion draft. I followed along with every new player as they were announced. I watched as the women at the sewing machines would sew names on the back of jerseys that would then be hung from the ceiling identifying every new player as they were announced.

Finally, in 1998 the Diamondbacks would take the field. That spring I drove the family to Tucson to attend the first spring training game of this new franchise. It was a thrilling come from behind victory beating the Chicago White Sox. I was also in attendance at the final spring training game that year at Bank One Ballpark, the first game in the new stadium. It rained but we were mostly dry as the roof remained closed. I say mostly because there were a few leaks that occurred, but it didn’t matter.

I took my wife and my son who was not yet a year old to Opening Day 1998 and we watched the Diamondbacks host the Colorado Rockies. I would love to say that was the highlight of my life and up until that moment it was among the top 10. It was eclipsed on a night in early November 2001 at that same stadium where I stood with my wife cheering as Luis Gonzalez hit a bloop single into shallow center field winning the World Series against the heavily favored New York Yankees.

Over the course of the past 26 years, I have been blessed to share many experiences and memories with this baseball team. I have met incredible people within the Diamondbacks organization and fellow fans from around the world. I’ve shared laughs and tears over the course of the seasons. I’ve yelled at my share of umpires and lamented the losses that at the time broke my heart only to have it mended by the next game and some kind of incredible play that left me speechless.

Enough time is passing now that I have almost been a Diamondbacks fan for half my life. I would not trade any of those memories either good or bad for anything in the world. During these years of being a D-backs fan I have watched my children grow up at the ballpark. I’m now introducing a new generation to the Diamondbacks and the joys of baseball. It’s a rite of passage for each new grandchild to go to a game with grandpa where he teaches them about the game and the life lessons it can teach them.

The dreams I had of one day living in a city that had a Major League Baseball team have been fulfilled. I think I have a personal understanding of what Lou Gehrig meant when he proclaimed that he felt like the luckiest man on the face of the earth.

Birthdays come and go. While the number of candles on the cake have multiplied over the years, I always have the same wish just before I attempt to blow them all out, “I hope I am able to continue to be a baseball fan and have the opportunity to go to another game. I wish everyone could spend a day at the ballpark and experience what I have and understand how special this game is.”

Happy Birthday to the Arizona Diamondbacks. May you continue to bring joy to everyone that walks through the turnstiles or happens to tune into a game. I hope that you have as much happiness and joy as you have given to others. I look forward to sharing my birthday with you for years to come.