For Fathers Day in June, I told my dad that his gift was a Cardinals game with me. He just had to choose which game and I'd take care of the tickets. 3 months later, we finally took that date. We saw the Cards play the Cubs and unfortunately, they loss. However, I don't go to see a win, I go to go. The wonderful man I married isn't so much a baseball fan and although I'm not a fanatic I am a St. Louisan who was raised in a home with boys who love their Cards. So going to a Cardinals game brings huge doses of nostalgia to me of being a kid, sitting with my family at Busch. We didn't go often, it's not a cheap outing for a family of 5, but when we went it was spectacular. The crowds, the lights, the peanuts.
Being a kid and having a brother who was huge fan, I became a fan by default. I joined in his excitement for games, and wore my red proudly. In Richmond heights, where we lived for a good portion of my early childhood, the police officers would pull over and hand out Cardinal baseball cards. We'd compare what we had in hopes of collecting the whole set by the end of the summer and baseball season. I remember going to an autograph signing as a kid. It was so exciting to get to meet these players that in our little minds were so worthy of their fame. I remember being able to recite the names of the players from season to season and joining in my fathers disappointment when a favored player was traded to another city.
Cardinals Baseball isn't just a sport or a team to me, it's a part of my childhood. One that brings back so many fond memories of my dad. Going to the annual game with him isn't just fun. It's a chance to sit their and be a kid. To take in all the excitement around me and pretend that I'm 12 again, to participate in the wave, to throw my peanut shells on the ground, to clap and sing to all the customary stadium songs and chants. To relish in my home team who right now are doing a bang up job! Go Cards!
Oh Yea, and on our way to the game we walked through the Taste of St. Louis on Market. We had some delicious BBQ Pulled Pork sandwiches for dinner. YUM!
