Go Cardinals!

My father was an American football man. We lived in Colorado and every Sunday, there he sat on the couch chugging a twenty-four pack of cheap beer, watching the Denver Broncos attempt to contend for John Elway's only Superbowl win. The pigskin was his chosen obsession. This didn't prevent him from watching a few major league baseball games throughout my childhood, until the labor strike of 1994 that is. "World Wars didn't stop the World Series, but greed on the part of both players and owners has." I never witnessed my father watch baseball again.

I was fourteen years old at the time. I certainly did not see a way to argue with that logic. I understood that the National sports leagues were considered to be necessary to the social morale. Who doesn't get a warm, fuzzy feeling watching thousands of people rally in support of a team? It is a little unsettling that the World Series could be canceled over money when the loss of lives and players during the first two World Wars had not prevented this precious pastime.

Four years later, during the Sammy Sosa/Mark McGwire Home-Run battle, I began to pay attention to the St. Louis Cardinals. I knew very little about baseball, though I remembered enough from playing softball to get by and a home-run is easy enough to determine. However, when the Steroid controversy began, I once again became oblivious to the game.

It has been nearly ten years since then and I finally conceded to attending a live game, in St. Louis on May 18th, 2008. McGwire has been retired for 7 years and the stars of the team, are people that have not made much headline news, outside their respective accomplishments in playing the game. Baseball is once again a cherished American pastime and the fans are as loyal as they were before '94.

At nearly 80 degrees, with not a single cloud in the sky, it was a perfect day to take in a baseball game. My cohort (a staunch St. Louis fan) and I, made our way through the sea of red and white to the seats she'd acquired. Busch stadium is a beautiful structure and nearly every seat guarantees a decent view. There were plenty of vendors on-hand hawking beer, soda, Cracker Jacks and peanuts along with a lion's share of memorabilia.

That day was dedicated to honoring Sam "the man" Musial, the greatest player in Cardinals history and everyone from the fans to city officials honored him with gusto. It was awesome to see the 87 year-old stand at the podium and receive a standing ovation in front of a crowd that means as much to him as he has to them. After a few words from "The Man" himself, elementary school children opened the game with "God Bless America", followed by the National Anthem. Even though these kids couldn't be expected to nail the high notes in either song, it was one of the cutest things to witness.

Being out of touch with the team for so long, I knew very little about the players but I was enthralled right from the start. The only thing thing that distracted me from the play of the game was the intensity of the people surrounding me. In fact, Stan has said that St. Louis has the best fans in the league. Being in the stadium, completely surrounded, as the Cardinals trail with zero runs, I would have to agree with him. The support was just as strong when they were losing as it was when the team started making great plays in the bottom of the sixth inning. The energy was infectious.

The Cardinals bestowed upon Stan one more honor that day. At the bottom of the ninth, with bases loaded and the score tied, Skip Schumaker hit a walk-off double to bring home the winning run. In those last few seconds, when everyone in the stadium was on their feet to see if the ball would be caught by Tampa Bay's Carl Crawford, the tension was tangible. When it narrowly missed his glove and Jason LaRue crossed home, the entire stadium erupted in celebration and I became a Cardinals fan again.