A different energy fills San Diego's East Village as smiles spread among fans who know there will be a Game 3. While supporters love this team, for some groups, the Padres represent more than baseball — they're a big part of their community mission.
Emotions ran high as members of the Madres, decked out in brown and gold, gathered to cheer on the Padres in Game 2 of the Wild Card Series. The group of lifelong Padres fans has been rooting for the Friars for decades, and to them, this is more than friends watching baseball together — it's family.
"Judy's house is kind of the center and we all get. We watch it. These are my stadium seats. We sit here. We watch the game. We talk, we laugh, we eat," Valerie Haas said.
The Madres organization has been around since the 1970s as a nonprofit that raises money to provide financial assistance to local youth baseball and softball teams. Their goal is to give all kids the opportunity to learn to love the game of baseball. But during the postseason, the focus is clear — it's all about the Padres.
"I'm so excited because our boys have played really hard. We've had ups and downs all year, right? But at the end of the day, it's all about the Padres, right? And so we want, we want them to go on, we want to be able to go there and show them how much we appreciate them and show them how much we love them," Kathy Pearson said.
The Madres do travel, with a couple members currently in Chicago. Like many fans, they're hoping the Padres' postseason run continues so they'll get the opportunity to cheer on the team at Petco Park.
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