World Series: North Texas fan split between Rangers, Diamondbacks

Brad Uptmore has been a fan of both teams for more than 20 years, since he was a kid.

SOUTHLAKE, Texas — Brad Uptmore is a Southlake police officer by day.

And one of the rarest baseball fans in North Texas, or maybe anywhere else, the rest of the time.

Yes, he's a fan of the hometown Texas Rangers, who are aiming for their first World Series championship ever against the Arizona Diamondbacks.

That presents a conflict for Uptmore, who just so happens to be a fan of BOTH the Rangers and the Diamondbacks. 

And don't accuse him of being a bandwagoner. 

Uptmore's love of both franchises goes back more than 20 years, to 1998, the Diamondbacks' first season as a franchise. His dad took him out to the car and popped the trunk, where all their luggage was inside.

"I was like, 'Oh my gosh, are you divorcing mom?,'" Uptmore joked.

Nope, his dad told him. They were heading to Arizona to watch the family's favorite team, the Rangers, play this new upstart squad in the desert.

A Rangers game was old hat for the Uptmore family, who made regular trips to games in Arlington.

But then Uptmore walked into the Diamondbacks' new air-conditioned stadium and was blown away.

"It was just amazing," Uptmore said. "It was brand new. It was indoors. There was air conditioning, my god. The players were all hungry for interacting with the public."

Uptmore "fell in love" with the Diamondbacks, while staying true to his Rangers roots. 

His fantasy baseball teams have been full of Diamondbacks and Rangers. And when he got older, he started making an annual tradition: Betting on both teams to win the World Series.

"I've had a 20-year losing streak," he said. "But the minute the D-Backs beat the Phillies [in the National League Championship Series], I was like, 'Oh my god, it's a 100% chance. I'm going to cash in. For once, it's working out for me.'"

And about those odds...Uptmore said the Diamondbacks were 88-1 odds before the season to win the World Series, meaning a $100 bet would pay out $8,800. The Rangers, he noted, were 28-1 odds, meaning the same bet would pay out $2,800.

"I know this," Uptmore said, laughing and giving a money gesture, "because cha-ching."

So what is Uptmore planning with his eventual winnings? For one, he went ahead and bought tickets to Game 6, which started out cheaper than most games because it wasn't Game 7 and wasn't yet guaranteed.

"I'll probably have to wear [this] there," he said, nodding to his Rangers-Diamondbacks half-and-half jersey, "so I don't get my butt kicked by somebody."

Uptmore has had to defend himself on social media, too. It's easy to catch a few complaints about being a "bandwagon" fan when you're a fan of two teams that happen to be facing each other in the World Series.

"I've been rolling out day by day proof that I've been a Rangers fan since the beginning and a Diamondbacks fan since 1998," he said. 

Need more proof? 

In 2009, Uptmore said, the Rangers had a sale of items and signs from their old manual scoreboard. For $60, Uptmore was able to buy the "ARI" sign from the scoreboard, the abbreviation for Arizona.

"Nobody wanted the Diamondbacks sign," Uptmore said. "But that's one of my favorite things. I've moved so many times since then. It's the one of the first things I grab to make sure it comes with me."

And is he leaning one way or another in the series? 

The money is one thing. But Uptmore says it "doesn't matter to me."

"I've won," he said. "I'm thrilled."