FORT WORTH, Texas — Baseball is a family affair for Jacob and Jully Adams, and their love of the Texas Rangers knows no bounds.
It started about a decade ago when Jacob and Jully met -- and, naturally, the topic of sports came up.
"She said, 'I kinda like sports,'" said Jacob, a lifelong fan of the Texas Rangers himself.
"I guess I was into it," Jully said. "I grew up in Texas -- so, Mavs, Stars, FC Dallas, all of it... I said, 'Sure!' I told him I'd make him a deal that I'd learn how to base the balls. I was like, 'Yeah, go sports ball!'"
But Jully would soon learn that, for Jacob, this was no joking matter. Her new boyfriend was a regular attendee at games, and his home was filled Rangers memorabilia.
"I realized, 'Oh, this is... not normal, this is another level here,'" Jully said.
It didn't take long for Jully to become fully in love with the game herself.
Jacob said Jully started learning the rules and coordinating tailgates for the two of them -- gatherings fully equipped with themed cups, napkins and tablecloths.
Later in their relationship, they'd adopt two dogs together. And they'd name them Rougie and Lily-Kins after their favorite baseball players.
"We got Rougie at a shelter the day [Rougned] Odor was coming off suspension after punching [Jose] Bautista," Jacob said. "Jully started calling Lily 'Lily-Kins' when she really started learning baseball and liking [Ian] Kinsler."
Fast-forward a few years, and Jacob and Jully would become engaged.
They felt it only fitting, of course, to take their engagement photos outside of the now-old Rangers park, Choctaw Stadium.
Even on their wedding day, Jacob and Jully found ways to implement the Rangers into their ceremony.
"When we walked down the aisle, a 'Hello Win Column' sign flashed on the projector screen behind us," Jacob said, referring to the late sportscaster Mark Holtz's catchphrase after every Rangers' win.
Later, when it was time to purchase the baby carriage, Jully and Jacob said they carefully curated their son's name.
"I said, 'Well, it's a no-brainer -- we're gonna name him after my favorite player, [Michael Young],'" Jacon said. "She said, 'We cannot do that.' She said, 'Well, your dad's middle name is Michael, and my dad's middle name is Joseph, so we'll name him after our dads. But I know the truth. I know."
And so Michael Joseph Adams -- named after Jacob and Jully's fathers, and certainly no one else -- got his name.
"[The Texas Rangers] has become embedded in every single part of of our life," Jully said.
She calls the team a "fourth family member."
“Which sounds kind of crazy, but that’s just how we’ve always felt," Jully said.
Watching their team in the World Series -- surrounded by Rangers memorabilia and gear around their family home -– has touched them, deeply.
It gets them emotional.
"When they won the pennant, I think we both just looked at each other and totally teared up because so much has happened in the decade we’ve been together," Jully said.
Two years ago, Jully lost her mother. Later that same year, Jacob then lost his grandfather, who instilled in his grandson a deep love for the game.
"The Rangers were me and his bond," Jacob said.
Through all other obstacles, the Adamses said the Texas Rangers are what they’ve turned to for solace and celebration. The Adamses say it's the team's kindness and energy, among other things, that draws back to being fans over and over again.
“Even when my husband turned 40, I reached out to the Rangers, and Michael Young and Chuck Morgan actually signed a card back for him for his 40th," Jully said.
The one thing left on their Rangers fandom wish-list? A Rangers World Series win -- and even more memories for their family to share around their favorite team.
The Adams have a lot of love to share.
But could they ever have enough love to go around and share with another team? Like, say, if there were no Rangers, would their love go to... another Texas team?
"No!" Jully said. "We will never be Astros fans. Absolute blasphemy."
"Absolutely not," Jacob added.