Dear Ian Kinsler

The other night, Matt and I were watching MasterChef, and both of us had our phones out. I was Candy Crushin', and I thought he was doing something for work, when ...

"Babe?"

He said it in that tone of voice he adopts when I've been slacking on my half of the household chores. I fully expected him to follow up with, "Could you please rinse your dishes before you put them in the dishwasher?" or "Could you please put the sheets back on the bed after you've washed them?"

"Babe? Could you please write a letter to Ian Kinsler? Tell him your husband would be so happy if the Rangers could get it together and make the playoffs."

I thought this was hilarious, because I fully expected to have a serious conversation. I didn't expect to talk about his disappointment that his Texas Rangers had lost their last several baseball games and had pretty much wrecked their chance at making the playoffs. But the funny thing to me was that he didn't want me to write to the Rangers' manager or owner, or anyone with any clout. No, he wanted me to write to his favorite player.

I told him that I would be happy to write a letter if he could get me Ian Kinsler's address. But since I'm pretty sure baseball teams don't give out players' addresses to random fans, e-mail or otherwise, I figured I'd just write my letter here.

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Dear Ian Kinsler,

My husband, Matt, is a big fan of the Rangers, and a big fan of yours as well. He watches as many games as he can, and when we're able to get to the Ballpark in Arlington from our home in College Station, we make the trip. When he can't get his baseball fix, he plays Wii baseball, where he has little Miis with the likenesses of you and a few other players (former Rangers players Josh Hamilton and Michael Young, for example). But I promise he's not a crazy fan. He has just loved this team since he was a little kid, and takes it really hard when they're not doing so well.

Mr. Kinsler, I implore you to encourage your teammates to play the best they can in their next series. My family's sanity depends on the Rangers making the playoffs. My husband has already decided that our cat, Elliott, will henceforth be called "Ranger" until such time as the Rangers make the playoffs. He now uses the names interchangeably, and our poor cat has no idea what's going on. I would like to be able to continue to call her "Elliott," and I would like to prevent my husband from moping around all winter until spring training starts. Please do the best you can to get the Rangers out of their slump and start winning again.

Sincerely,

Allie and Elliott/Ranger

If there are no peanuts or Cracker Jacks to be had, she'll settle for a mid-game yogurt.

Do you have a favorite sports team? What's the craziest thing you've ever done to show your team spirit?