You can see all the opening day impressions here.

Scott Jefferies brings us opening day from Arlington, Texas:

Good Friday: The Rangers will not play a losing team from 2003 until May 3, so April will be torturous with games against Boston, Oakland, Anaheim, and Kansas City. But for one day, the Rangers schedule worked out to perfection for all involved. Having the home opener for the 2004 Rangers on Good Friday, a day where many people, particularly kids were home on holiday was a god send. The attendance at the Ballpark in Arlington for Fridays game was 50,000 plus and the mark was a record for the club in a regular season game.

The weather could not have been better. Clear skies, sunny, 76 degrees. I was glad to see so many people take advantage of the nice weather because the weather will be downright hazardous come July.

Lone Star: Now that Major League Baseball has corporatized Opening Day and we all are made to Live For This, I was particularly on the look out for Opening Day festivities that were indigenous to Texas. Besides the barbeque menu on the tailgate grills, the most obvious sign that you were in Texas was the Texas Flag. Covering Greens Hill in straight away center as I walked into the ballpark was a giant Lone Star Flag. I doubt the Colorado Rockies drape the field with the State Flag of Colorado during their games. Another sign of Texas sized influence was the rendition of the National Anthem by Texas music (think Jimmy Buffett on Tequila instead of Margaritas) artists Cross Canadian Ragweed. Decked out in replica Ranger uniforms, the Weed tried their hand at an Eagles style four-part harmony and it was really weak.

Saddam Hussein: One of the best things to happen Friday, besides the Rangers 12-4 win, was the honor and ovation given to the 4th Infantry Division from Fort Hood before the first pitch. It was these guys who were responsible for the capture of Saddam Hussein and to watch them march on to the field in front of the Angels and Rangers introduced lineups was inspiring. Everyone in the stands was on their feet and cheering. It always seems easier to be patriotic while sitting in a ballpark.

In honor of the men and women still in Iraq, the Rangers released 7,500 yellow balloons from the center field area. I was watching with keen attention to the direction of and strength that the balloons blew away so to pick up on any evidence of the much talked about Ballpark jetstream. It did appear that the balloons released directly from center field were helped out of the ballpark by a significant gust.

Gabe Kapler, Tim Crabtree, Einar Diaz, and now Mike Young: As the Rangers have moved on from their playoff runs in the late 1990s, they have gradually dropped star players and key pieces to their success. None of the immediate successors have had any staying power but Mike Young hopes to change that as he seeks to place his own mark on the Rangers shortstop position. Moving over from second base, Young received an early opportunity to show the home fans that the position was in capable hands. From the outset he failed. Two consecutive errors, one on a routine double play opened the door for the opportunistic Angels to score three runs on an Adam Kennedy homer. I wouldnt have been surprised if my binoculars showed tears running down Youngs face as Kennedy rushed by him in his home run trot. But what may prove Young to be more successful than the above mentioned successors is what he did in the bottom of the inning.

After a Lance Nix homerun and a Gerald Laird single, Young came up with one out and the Rangers down 3-2. He laced a double to bring home Laird and tie the game. Young later scored and also had an RBI single in the third and finished the game with three RBIs and two long forgotten errors.