MOOSIC, Pa. -- With the crack of the bat, it was finally time to play ball.
A rain delay forced the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders game against the Syracuse Mets to start two hours after its 6:35 start time, but fans hung around at PNC Field in Moosic.
Some were there for the 30th anniversary of the return of Minor League Baseball to Lackawanna County.
“Just because it's the 30th anniversary, we just wanted to come out,” said Tracy Bakale from Plymouth.
But most came to see former football star Tim Tebow take the field with the Mets.
Some came from near.
“Have you met Tim Tebow before?” Palmer Johnson of Pittston asked his four-year-old son who nodded. “Yeah, we met him last year when he was playing in Binghamton, and he was very nice to him, so we saw he was in town today, so we thought we'd come up and see him.”
Others came from farther away.
“It is, absolutely, to see him,” said Mike and Ann Glaude when asked if it was worth the drive up from the Philadelphia area to watch Tebow in the rain.
“As a matter of fact we were at [the University of Florida] about two months ago, so we have photos of us in front of his statue, Heisman statue, hoping to get them signed today,” said Mike.
“Tim Tebow, you got to root for him, too. Can't help but love his story,” said Daryn Hoae who came in from Buffalo.
Unfortunately, the rain did return, halting the game.
The Mets are set to play the RailRiders through the weekend at PNC Field. Then, it’s on to face off against the Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs.
Fans say they'll try to see Tim Tebow as many times as they can.
“Oh yeah, we got tickets for all weekend,” said Gary Burney from Pittston. “We'll be here, see him every night, and when they come back in June we got them too already.”
“We're going to see him Monday, too, in Lehigh,” said Ann Glaude.
Tebow says he just hopes to keep them proud by being more than just an athlete.
“Hopefully I can transcend whatever I'm doing, whether that's playing football or playing baseball or giving a speech or a talk, or it's something more than that,” said Tebow.
Friday night's game was postponed. The teams will play a double-header on Saturday.