Fans fill Minute Maid with one hope for Astros: Do it again.

The hope — the order — on fans’ mind was clear: Do it again.

When the Astros stormed to victory last year, it was against the unlikeliest of odds. A chronically underperforming franchise that had never won a World Series championship, in a city battered by Hurricane Harvey and at one of its lowest points in decades.

Against that backdrop, the Astros threw out the rulebook and announced themselves to the world: We are the best.

On Friday, fans arrived early at Minute Maid Park. They came from all corners — young and old. They dressed in orange, in outlandish costumes, flashing replica World Series rings. There were even some nuns. They screamed. They cheered.

After their World Series win, the team has had an already-historic season, winning the most regular season games since the team began playing as the Astros in 1962. This season, more fans flooded Minute Maid than any time since 2007.

On Friday, Nathan Bishop and Jonathan Hall arrived early, driving the 98 miles from College Station to Houston, parking blocks from Minute Maid, where music boomed down the streets.

Bishop, a lifelong fan, frequently traveled to games. Then last year, he watched the team play against Boston and New York as it advanced through the post season.

Bishop and Hall even flew to Los Angeles for Game 2 of the World Series where they watched the Astros make history by winning their first game in a World Series. Like so many other fans, they were hoping for the team to reach that same stage and beyond — for the historically underperforming Astros to take its place alongside other storied franchises.

“Everybody likes these players,” said Hall, a burly Aggie dressed in a bright orange Carlos Correa jersey. “It would be great for this (particular) team to be an Astros dynasty, and these players.”

A few blocks away, Friendswood native Dora Latham, sat on a bench on Texas Avenue, waiting for her family to assemble and head to the ballpark.

She has followed this team for decades and even used to attend minor league games at Buffalo Stadium.

“We came a long way before we had a World Series team,” said Latham, an 84-year-old great grandmother of five who last attended a live game at the Astrodome.

Her son, Tom Latham, who has lived in Seattle, Wash., for 30 years, flew in for the game.

On Friday, his allegiance was clear.

“He’s not a Mariner,” Latham scoffed. “He’s still a Texan.”

Like so many other Houstonians, Latham watched floodwater fill her home. And, like so many others, she found hope and inspiration in the Astros, watching the team gel together, taking down franchise after franchise in its path, and earning Houston’s first championship.

With just hours before the opener to the American League Division Series, she could only hope for similar greatness.

“I hope they win,” she said. “I hope they’re hitting good.”

After three innings, they would, slapping four runs on the board.

In section 155 at Minute Maid, Sister Mary Margaret, 74, Sister Marian Grace, 85, and Sister Mary Zachary, of the Incarnate Word and Blessed Sacrament, watched excitedly amid a sea of orange.

They were there for their colleague, Sister Scholastica, who was ill and couldn’t attend. The Astros would win for her, they said.

“I like them. They play like it’s a game, not like it’s a matter of life and death,” Sister Mary Zachary said. “They’re not mean. They play like boys, like they like what they’re doing. They’re our team.”

Sister Mary Margaret, meanwhile, had no doubts.

“They’re primed,” she said, as Justin Verlander delivered another strikeout. “Last year was wonderful — because of (winning after) Harvey. This year, they’re going to win just because they’re on top — and they want to stay there.”

Nearby, Kesha Brown, 43, watched with Hassan Wilridge, 48. She’s rooted for the team since she was eight, and counts her fandom by her 14 bobble-heads.

Last year, the team was the underdog, she said, battling all those years of never-made-it.

“If we do it this year, we’ll have an even bigger celebration,” she said. “People will start to respect the Astros like they should.”

On the first level concourse, Manny Rojas, 32, watched anxiously with his wife, Vanessa Rojas, 33, along with Arthur and Lynsey Martinez, ages 33 and 31.

Rojas had come prepared: an Astros World Series fedora, shirt, shorts, socks, an Astros flag draped across his shoulders and one of the team’s replica rings on his right hand.

They were in the same spot as last year when they watched the team take on the Dodgers: first level, behind section 154.

“We had to repeat the whole mojo,” Rojas joked.

An avid fan and amateur player, he watched seasons go by, ever hopeful. Then, inevitably, those dreams would be dashed.

“For Houston, (we would always feel) ‘this is our year, this is our year,’” he said. Last year felt different, particularly watching the team amid the backdrop of Harvey’s devastation.

“It just shows the strength of Houston and Houstonians — and the value of a team committed to their city,” Rojas said. “When you’re playing for bigger things than a trophy, magical things happen.”

At 4:43 p.m., with the score of at 7-2, the Astros pulled in their first win, as the cheers of fans engulfed the stadium.

Soon, they headed for the exits, whooping and trading high-fives.

David Roschke, 70, turned to his wife, Jennifer.

“One down,” he said. “Ten to go.”

St. John Barned-Smith covers public safety for the Houston Chronicle. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook. Send tips to st.john.smith@chron.com.