As an amateur sports journalist, I love to write about the latest juicy trade rumor or who I believe the Cardinals should sign in free agency. While these articles are entertaining to author, and usually spark debate within Cardinals Nation, I want to take a step back from all that and reflect on how I became such an avid Cardinals fan, and what the Cardinals have meant to me in my life. Hopefully many of you can somehow relate to my story!
Unlike many in Cardinals Nation, I did not grow up donning a Cardinals onesie. Born and raised in a suburb of Kansas City, I did not become a Cardinals fan til later in life. Growing up, my family and I have always loved baseball. As a young child, my family would casually follow our hometown Kansas City Royals, and attend a few Royals games a year, we were never die hard fans of the team, but we enjoyed spending a few summer nights together as a family at Kauffman Stadium. In fact, one of my first and favorite baseball memorize was when I was around eight or so. One day, my Dad pulled me out of school early without telling me the reason why, or where we were going. As we were driving down the highway, my Dad informs me that he bought tickets at the last minute to go watch the flamethrowing southpaw, Randy Johnson, pitch live against the Royals! This alone made me so excited, but then my Dad made it even more memorable when he told me that it was a general admission game, since it was a make up game! We were able to nab a pair of seats right behind home plate to watch one of the greatest pitchers of all time! While I have no recollection of the final score of the game, or really any of the details, I remember being mesmerized by the supersonic fastball of Johnson, and having the best afternoon with my Dad.
In 2008, Albert Pujols was in the midst of an MVP season, and was undoubtedly the best player in the world! The Cardinals were on national television pretty much weekly due to Pujols’ monster year! One day I was just casually watching a Cardinals nationally televised game, and remember being absolutely mystified and awe struck by the supreme talent of Pujols. He was undoubtedly the most talented player I had ever witnessed. After that, I searched out for every time the Cardinals were on national television, so I could watch Pujols! Soon, my infinity for Albert Pujols grew to the whole Cardinals organization!
In 2009, my family decided to take the plunge and become members of Cardinals Nation! For the first time, we purchased MLB Extra Innings, so we could watch every Cardinals game live! This is the year where our fandom significantly increased! We watched the team every night, and felt connected to the ebbs and flows of the long baseball season! We attended our first game at Busch Stadium that season. I remember being awe struck by the sea of passionate fans dawning red in the full capacity stadium, differing from Kauffman Stadium. My aunt had given me seats right behind the dugout as a present! While I do not recall the outcome of the game, I remember my family and I having the best time cheering on our newly adopted favorite team! Prior to the July trade deadline that year, GM John Mozeliak made arguably the best acquisition of his career thus far when he acquired slugger Matt Holiday from the Oakland Athletics! Holiday was in the prime of his career, and presented me with a whole new superstar to witness, which grew my passion for the Cardinals even more! While the season unfortunately ended in a misfortunate sweep to the hands of the Los Angeles Dodgers, my parents and I were hooked on Cardinals baseball!
The year 2011 was the worst year I have ever experienced in my life. The day after Christmas in 2010, my grandfather was diagnosed with brain cancer. This absolutely devastated me as I was extremely close with him, my grandfather was honestly my best friend. His nine month battle with cancer was the most horrific time my family and I had ever experienced. As I slowly watched my grandfather and best friend deteriorate before my eyes, my parents and I turned to Cardinals baseball as a three hour nightly escape from the reality we were currently enduring. While it did not appear that the team was postseason bound, I religiously tuned in to the game hoping for the Cardinals season to change. My grandfather lost his battle with cancer in September of that year, which is honestly the saddest moment of my life thus far. The Cardinals were in the midst of their magical and unthinkable September run that ultimately lead to them edging out the Atlanta Braves for the Wild Card by a single game! Despite the fact that I was struggling with depression, I looked forward to the Cardinals game every night that month, hoping and praying they would somehow achieve the unthinkable! Throughout the postseason I was locked into every game! Game 5 of the NLDS was the most masterfully pitched game I had ever seen. Dueling aces, Chris Carpenter and Roy Halladay both pitched lights out! My family had to attend a wedding that evening, but my parents and I were anxiously watching the game on our phones, praying that the Cardinals would somehow dethrone the juggernaut Phillies! Chris Carpenter out-dueled Roy Halladay by pitching a complete game shutout! The obvious other most memorable moment for my family and I was watching David Freese’s magical game six World Series performance. I’ll never forget the moment Freese hit the game tying triple, my parents and I were screaming so loud! After the Cardinals eventually captured the World Series crown, my parents and I had the opportunity to travel to St. Louis for the World Series victory parade! I’ll never forget the precession of Ford Trucks with all of the players and coaches riding in the flatbed! The magical playoff run of 2011 will always have a special meaning to me that transcends beyond the white lines.
In 2013, the Cardinals punched their tickets to their third consecutive postseason. This was a special postseason for my family and I because it was the first time we ever attended a playoff game! The Cardinals were matched up against their division rivals, the Pittsburgh Pirates in the National League Division Series! I will never forget how electric the atmosphere was for those two games! It was a sea of forty-five thousand Cardinals fanatics enthusiastically waving their white rally towels! The Cardinals split the two games, but I will never forget how amazing my first playoff experience was!
In 2014, the Cardinals once again found themselves playing October baseball! This time the Redbirds were pitted up against the Los Angeles Dodgers! The Dodgers owned home field advantage for the series, so the Cardinals hosted games three and four in the series! The Cardinals managed to earn a split in the first two games of the series, giving the Cardinals home field advantage! The Cardinals were able to make a late game comeback to capture the victory in game three of the series, presenting the Cardinals with the opportunity to clinch the series as home! Game four of this series is hands down the most incredible baseball game that I have ever attended in my life! The Dodgers had their southpaw Ace, Clayton Kershaw on the bump for this crucial game. Kershaw hurled six dominant innings, and looked like he would lead the Dodgers to victory, then the seventh inning happened! This is the most memorable inning of baseball I have ever witnessed live in my life!
The inning started out with a bang when Matt Holiday and Jhonny Peralta reached base safely, bringing the tying run to the plate in “Big City” Matt Adams! I was on pins and needles enthusiastically twirling my white Cardinals rally towel in the air! Then it happened, the most memorable at bat I have ever witnessed live! Matt Adams remarkably smashed a three run blast against the best pitcher in the world! The decibel level in Busch was remarkable! My family was screaming so enthusiastically as we rabidly waved our towels in the air celebrating the Cardinals taking the lead! The Cardinals wound up punching their ticket to the NLCS that evening! My parents and I joined the joyous crowd celebrating at Ballpark Village, which is one of my favorite Cardinals memories!
I am extremely grateful for websites such as this one that give me the opportunity to share my thoughts and opinions on my favorite team. Due to my Cerebral Palsy, I cannot always participate in sports, and I obviously can never go pro in athletics. Writing articles like this allows me to stay connected to my passion for baseball and sports, despite the fact that I cannot play. There are many ebbs and flows in being a fan of any sports franchise, and even though the Cardinals sometimes frustrate me to no end, I am proud to be a member of Cardinals Nation! As you read, the Cardinals have provided my family and I so many remarkable memories that I will treasure forever! I sincerely hope that this article helps you step back for a minute and reminisce about how you became a fan of this historic and wonderful franchise!
Thanks for reading!
