I went in knowing it was a long shot. My eyes were wide open. But these were/are “The Best Fans in Baseball”. I know that because everyone of’em you meet tells you that.
Hi, my name is Ed. I’m from St. Louis. We are The Best Fans in Baseball (BFiB). Does the Uptown bus stop here?
Cardinals fans are Major League Baseball’s version of UNCCH’s TruBlues telling The World “we are a sleeping giant”. The World, of course, includes 86 other fan bases claiming they are “a sleeping giant too”. Who knew “a sleeping giant” was such an enviable thing to be?
Actually “Ed” and his fellow BFiB do have a legitimate claim to that title.
Yesterday (Monday) 45,000+ “BFiB” filled Busch Stadium III (there were two previous Busch Stadiums) for a make-up game with the lowly Redlegs from Cincinnati. It was… on a Monday… at 3:00 PM… in “iffy” weather.
The only visiting Redleg of note is Joey Votto. Neither Blondie nor your Aunt Harriett has ever heard of Joey Votto. Joey is VERY good regardless. Joey visits St. Louis 9-10 times a year as an NL Central rival. “Seeing Joey Votto” is not a “gotta go” incentive for those 45,000.
Both the Cardinals and the “lowly Redlegs” are having not-really-good seasons so far. Neither project to be playing in October… but “hope springs eternal from within the human breast”.
And 45,000+ were on-hand.
Alas, while those 45,000+ were enjoying the myriad of reasons for “going to a ballgame”, there was a parallel universe of… I hate to have to say this… a parallel universe of BOARD MONKEYS out there in Cardinals’ Nation.
Yes indeed my friends.
Even among The Best Fans in Baseball…
Board Monkeys flourish.
They are indeed EVERYWHERE!!
There is no mention of John Swofford… or Rick Barnes… or Karl Hess… or Damn Dan Kane… or “one pair of sneakers”… or “Jan Boxil – the most ethical woman I’ve ever known”.
The Board Monkeys of Cardinals Nation have their own Rogues Gallery of curs, scallywags and rascals who are at the epicenter of all of The Universe’s evil.
As I noted in that recent column about Pro Fans versus College Fans; to a pro sports fan the onus is forever and always upon The Owner – The General Manager – The Manager – The Players. In that descending order.
Once they are down to cussin’ and making negative assertions about players’ mammas you know they have already skinned alive the previous three.
99.9% of Cardinals’ Nation is of the Caucasian Persuasion. The Ferguson Chapter of Cardinals Nation meets in an abandoned Radio Shack next to the Hands Up Don’t Shoot Memorial.
Keep that in mind in analyzing the board monkeys wrath at Bill DeWitt the team’s owner the past 25 years. Despite the team’s unparalleled on-field success over that quarter century, Bill DeWitt is “a rich old white man”… UH OH.
Whether the monkeys viral dislike of Mr. DeWitt is his being rich – old – or white is unclear but the combination is not in his favor. Oh… and DeWitt is “a Christian” and a Trump contributor… Well Hell’s Bells that explains everything.
Mr. Cardinal Stan Musial was a rich old white man too; but Stan is dead now and Stan was The Man.
The Cardinals Nation monkey clan is a sad and depressing a bunch as every other bunch of board monkeys in the world of sports… college and pro.
Their team’s on-field fortunes fail to compensate for the monkeys real lives being as hopeless as the career of the Director of Ferguson’s Chamber of Commerce.
Even when the team wins, the monkeys’ lives are woeful. When the team struggles, as they are lately, their lives’ woefullness becomes unbearable.
I explain all of this in a Redbord Rants column posted earlier today – LINK.
All of the above to inform you that…
There is a brand new page for you to enjoy here every day”
The incredible stuff I am creating for Redbird Rants is, alas, casting pearls before swine. I need to be sure it gets to functioning humans. If you know of any, please forward this to them.
BL on Baseball includes everything I have ever written about Baseball over 20 tears… including “God Loves Beavers Too” and “… Harper Cooper” as well as current Cardinals-related stuff. There are over 40 columns over there now waiting for you.
The Cardinals stuff is NOT just Cardinals stuff. As with all my stuff… it is multi-layered philosophical gold. Substitute the Cardinals names to anything you relate to… be it sports or beyond.
Feel free to comment on old columns or the newer ones.
There are 23 Cardinals columns posted. Of those “Miss Moneypenny” …. “Managing is hard… and “Blowing out a flare” are primo.
The title It was Deja Freese all over again may be as awesome a column title as I’ve EVER created.
I was simply a vessel hitting keyboard keys. The inspiration was ethereal.
BL on Baseball is always accessible by that header up yonder on the right. “That header” is that thing that says BL on Baseball. This thing…
