http://houston.astros.mlb.com/NASAp...t_id=1256080&vkey=news_hou&fext=.jsp&c_id=hou 10/20/2005 7:48 PM ET Astros to hold Rally Friday at ballpark Send-off rally to begin at Minute Maid Park at 9:30 a.m. CT By Alyson Footer / MLB.com A couple hundred fans greeted the Astros at Minute Maid Park when the team arrived from St. Louis in the wee hours Thursday morning after clinching their first trip to the World Series. Several more will have a chance to show their appreciation to their hometown team Friday morning, when the team departs the ballpark for Chicago, where they will play in the first World Series in Houston history. The Friday Morning Send-Off Rally will begin at 9:30 a.m. CT at the corner of Texas Ave. and the Avenidas De Las Americas. Fans will hear from Astros players, announcers Milo Hamilton and Alan Ashby, Mayor Bill White, and others. The buses will pull out of the parking garage at Minute Maid Park at approximately 10 a.m. and will drive along Crawford Street and Texas Ave., where fans will line up to give the team one last send-off. Mayor White encourages Houstonians to support the Astros by wearing their team gear and discarding their socks -- or is it Sox? The Mayor declared Friday, Saturday and Sunday as a "No Socks" weekend in Houston. "This is a special time for Houstonians, so whether you wear an Astro shirt or a cap or wear no socks, show your support for the hometown team," Mayor White said. "We want to send a message to our National League Champions that we are behind them all the way." Alyson Footer is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
You can actually watch most of the video footage on www.khou.com for those that didn't see. Damn I am pumped up for tomorrow night.
