Longtime Reds fan reflects on lifetime of fandom
Mike "Chiller" Miller's Reds fandom spans seven decades, filled with pennants, a World Series title, and more than a dozen managers leading the charge.
As a longtime season ticket holder, he has attended easily 2,000 games, but he still remembers his very first game.
"It would have been a Crosley Field with my little league team when I was about seven years old," Miller said.
Miller's Little League team is the stuff of legends.
"Our little league team was the Reds. And so my dad and the coaches over did it. We had little warm up jackets. Nobody else did with our names on it. I still have that jacket," Miller said.
But it wasn't just about looking like the real deal for the 'Little League Reds,' it was about playing like it. And because this is Cincinnati, they learned from the best.
"So somehow they arranged our little League team to come down to Crosley Field. And they set up a clinic with Pete Rose and, Joe Nuxall. And he was teaching us all these really fundamental things that, you know, they stuck with all of us," Miller said.
The fundamentals stuck with "Chiller," and he stuck with the Reds. Through good and bad seasons, he has taken a seat to support his team from Crosley Field to Riverfront Stadium, and now Great American Ball Park.
"Chiller" said the way Terry Francona manages his players is all about getting back to basics.
So, "Chiller" is ready to enjoy the little things this season alongside his wife, Mo, who he says is a bigger Reds fan than he is. On opening day, he was asked if he had a favorite opening day.
"That was 30 years ago, and Chiller says he has no regrets," Miller said.
And he'll be back again this year, right where he belongs.