Inside the Astros

Creed Embraces Baseball, Texas Rangers' Playoff Run at ALCS

The Texas Rangers have found success from an unlikely source: the band, Creed. Creed has fully embraced the love it has received from Rangers fans at the ALCS.

Jack Vita

Creed Embraces Baseball, Texas Rangers' Playoff Run at ALCS
Creed Embraces Baseball, Texas Rangers' Playoff Run at ALCS /
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Wednesday, the Texas Rangers hosted their first home playoff game since 2016. In attendance for Wednesday's game at Globe Life Field was an unlikely guest: the multi-award winning band, Creed.

Creed's music quickly became a rallying cry for the Rangers, in the thick of a playoff chase. In search of motivation, Bruce Bochy's club began playing Creed's music before games. At Game 3 of the ALDS, fans in Arlington sang along to Creed's hit song, 'Higher'.

For Creed, the sudden love and attention was surprising. 

“I was just floored and excited that the music after all these years is still connecting with people, still inspiring folks, and grateful to be a part of the ride," the band said Wednesday. “It’s great that the Rangers and us can both help each other out.”

While the band isn't exactly Texas Rangers fans, it has been honored to be recognized and be synonymous with the Rangers, and the group is more than happy to jump on the bandwagon.

“[We're] fans of sports, fans of baseball," the band said. "And of course, how can you not embrace a city that’s embraced us for so many years, with the Cowboys back in the early 2000s, and now with the Rangers? So we’re fans of anyone who supports us. We support them. And even people who don’t support us, we support. We love everybody. We’re just glad our music can be part of the soundtrack for people’s lives and also now part of the Rangers’ success.”

Creed performed at the halftime show of the Cowboys' 2001 Thanksgiving Day game, the same day that the team lost 26-24 to the Cleveland Browns.

Creed formed in Tallahassee, Florida. Half of the band had dreams of playing in the major leagues, but were unable to meet that goal. They became rock stars as a nice consolation prize.

“Yeah we couldn’t make it in the bigs, but me and (Scott) Stapp were baseball players in our day," Scott Phillips said. "We always wanted to be in the bigs, but if we can play a part of it now, that’s great.”

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Jack Vita
JACK VITA

Jack Vita is a writer and contributor to Sports Illustrated's Inside the Astros, and host of the Jack Vita Show, a popular sports podcast available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube and wherever podcasts are found. Jack is a 2017 graduate of Valparaiso University, in northwest Indiana. Since completing his degree, Jack has created his own independent sports media outlet (JackVita.com) and podcast (the Jack Vita Show). He has featured prominent guests from the worlds of sports and entertainment including Brian Urlacher, Scot Pollard, Bob Nightengale, Dan O'Dowd, and Survivor icons Stephenie LaGrossa Kendrick, Cirie Fields, Danni Boatwright and "the Dragon Slayer", Coach Benjamin Wade. While studying at Valparaiso, Jack was the school newspaper's beat writer for the Valpo Crusaders men's basketball team, which won three straight Horizon League championships from 2015-2017. Traveling to cover the team, Jack had a front row seat to one of the nation's best mid-major teams, headlined by future NBA Draft pick Alec Peters and coached by NCAA Tournament hero Bryce Drew. Jack hosted a weekly sports radio show and provided play-by-play and color commentary services for ESPN 3 and the university's student radio station, WVUR-FM, 95.1 The Source, covering Valparaiso men's soccer, women's basketball, softball and volleyball. Jack also covered these sports, in addition to men's and women's tennis, baseball and women's soccer for the school newspaper, The Torch. While he was in college, Jack interned for and co-hosted Jewell On Sports, a sports radio program on AM 1050 WLIP in Kenosha, Wisconsin. There, he interviewed various pro athletes such as Ahman Green, Javon Walker and Javier Arenas, in addition to talking sports with the late, great Brad Jewell. Jack also interned for 22nd Century Media, a now defunct newspaper corporation that provided news to the North Shore of Chicago. With 22nd Century Media, Jack wrote post-game recaps, feature stories about local athletes, reviews of local restaurants and compiled the newspaper's "Pet of the Week" and "Athlete of the Week" sections, while providing copy-editing services. Before attending Valparaiso, Jack enrolled at Carthage College in Kenosha, Wisconsin, where he studied for two years before transferring. He is a high school graduate of New Trier Township High School in Winnetka, Illinois. You can follow Jack on Twitter @JackVitaShow, subscribe to his podcast, the Jack Vita Show, wherever podcasts are found, and reach him via email at jack@jackvita.com.

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