Darius Rucker may not be from Cincinnati, but he’s one of us: He has been a Reds fan through the good and the bad.
“One of the things I truly love when I get to come to Cincinnati, if we time it right, is I get to see the Reds play,” Rucker told The Enquirer ahead of his Riverbend Music Center show on June 26.
The country music legend became a Reds fan when he was about 6 or 7 years old, seeing the Big Red Machine dominate baseball. He has continued supporting the Redlegs ever since.
“I remember 1990, man,” Rucker, the Hootie & the Blowfish frontman, said. “We are in Florida playing. We’re opening up for, I think the band was called Flat Duo Jets. We’re playing ‘Let Her Cry,’ and the (final World Series) game ends. I stopped singing and I’m running around this bar celebrating, and the band just kept playing the song.”
Cincinnati has suffered a championship drought since that 1990 team, and the Reds haven’t won a playoff series since 1995. But Rucker, 60, still hopes to see one more World Series title.
“(Elly) De La Cruz is such a great player. He’s such a great player. I’m glad I’m getting to watch him in a Reds uniform now,” he said. “There’s a big part of me that likes to dream that he’s going be a career Red … but I would love to just, man, I’d like to just win a (championship). I’d love to win a World Series. One more before I die.”
Rucker’s upcoming Cincinnati show is part of his Songs of Summer tour, as Lauren Alaina and Austin Williams are set to open. Tickets are available on Ticketmaster.
“Cincinnati has been, it was for Hootie and it’s for me, it’s just one of those cities that it’s just great for me,” Rucker said. “Every time we play it’s a sellout, the crowd is great and they have a great time, and that’s awesome for me.”
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Darius Rucker just wants 1 Reds World Series title before he dies
Reporting by David Wysong, Cincinnati Enquirer / Cincinnati Enquirer
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By David Wysong, Cincinnati Enquirer | USA TODAY Network
