There's at least one reason why Colorado baseball fans should root for the Washington Nationals in the World Series.

The short answer is because the Nationals used to be the Monreal Expos, who used to be the parent club of the AAA minor league team the Denver Bears. A number of Bears players went on to play for Montreal.

Now, stay with me.

I became a fan of the Montreal Expos when I was growing up because of their affiliation with the Denver Bears. It was really cool watching players perform in the major leagues that I had seen play minor league ball at Mile High Stadium. Unlke today, I was a huge baseball fan at the time.

The list of major league stars that played for the Denver Bears - and then the Montreal Expos is impressive. Andre Dawson, Tim Wallach, Tim Raines, Warren Cromartie, and Terry Francona are just a few of former Bears players to make it big in the majors with the Expos and then other teams.

If you followed the Bears back in the 70s and early 80s you might remember names like Tony Bernazard, Jerry Fry, Pete Mackanin, Bryn Smith, Bombo Rivera, Roger Freed, and Stan Papi among others, who went on to play for Montreal.

The Expos had some really good teams in the 80s and early 90s, but never could get over the hump and get to the World Series. Even though their affiliation with Denver ended in the early 80s, I continued to cheer for them because of the Colorado connection. That is- until they moved to Washington and became the Nationals in 2005.

So, I know it's a bit of stretch, but the Washington Nationals, going for their first World Series title, have a Colorado connection and that's why I'll be rooting for them in the fall classic.

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