Continuing the theme in which I’m an outlier by trying to give people hope for the future, the second half of the Major League Baseball season starts this weekend.

At the All-Star Game Tuesday night, fans had an uplifting message about how hope springs eternal. I wandered up to some tailgaters on my way to the ballpark. They were eager to talk about what it’s like to host the All-Star Game… as long as I joined them.

They were glad to welcome everyone from out of town… for a visit.

The All-Star Game would draw fans of every Major League team, so tailgaters wanted to show Texas hospitality, explaining all are welcome… as long as they’re not Yankees or Astros fans, of course.

But we can still find common ground. In the line outside the ballpark, a Yankees fan was standing right in front of a Rangers fan. They had struck up a conversation, with the Rangers fan saying he’d successfully converted her to Texas. They said as much as they might be rivals on the field, they can come together in thinking they’re better behaved than Red Sox fans.

One must set goals for himself in order to stay engaged at work. I figured there would definitely be Reds fans to interview, but I was determined to also find Montreal Expos fans. In fact, I encountered the Expos fans as soon as I walked into the ballpark.

The guy with the Mets hat qualifies his jersey that he bought it because he’s a Gary Carter fan.

I felt honored when Gary Carter, a Hall of Fame catcher who happens to have also passed away 12 years ago, liked my tweet.

The Reds fans were also easy to spot. They embrace the club’s history, and for the Home Run Derby, they were in the outfield with the real fans.

The roof was closed for both the Home Run Derby and All-Star Game, and the Reds fans were among those who said their most significant observation about Texas was the heat. At the end of this compilation, a native Texan explains the air conditioning was a solid decision for the new ballpark.

A fellow Ohio boy, David Allan Coe, has put his position on the Texas heat into song.

For fans who needed provisions after dealing with the heat, the Rangers kept the roof closed, but heroic hotdogs still parachuted into the crowd.

The All-Star Game also included other Texas themes. For instance, when New York hosted the game in 2008, players were not announced with trick ropers.

The Rangers and MLB kept working to include fans. If a hot dog’s not enough for you, you can race an associate to eat a 3 Strike Boom Box on the Jumbotron… brought to you by OxiClean. When you have to clean up after someone vomits during an eating contest… think OxiClean.

This All-Star Game can show us no matter how divided we might seem now, if we keep our sense of community, our hope for the future, our desire to eat airborne hotdogs and giant sandwiches, we can still find common ground.

The guys who gave me the rib are hopeful. Sure, the Rangers are below .500, but it’s only July.