Opening Day

So I wrote this posing on Tuesday morning entitled “Opening Day.”  I wrote it in my blog editor.  It’s cool except that when I post pictures the editor pops up a new window.  My pop-up blocker swings into high gear when that happens so I turned it off.  The problem is that I didn’t save the post.  So when the pop-up blocker reloaded the page I lost my post.

Technology.  It’s where I make my living.  I sometimes think cable disease lurks around every corner.

Anyway, as I remember my post…  St. Louis is a big baseball town.  If you drive through town you’ll figure it out quick.  There’s Cardinals garb everywhere.  Even the nuns here in St. Louis have a Cardinal tattooed on their bum.  No pun intended.

On Friday evening I received word that I was to roll down to opening day.  We were hosting clients for a pre-game event and then select clients in our suite at Busch Stadium for the game.  Not only was there red everywhere but these folks think baseball is NASCAR.  There were RVs and tailgaters in downtown St. Louis at 2 in the afternoon for a 6:30pm game.  I was awe struck.  Baseball.  It’s a big deal here.

So the best part of opening day was the pomp and circumstance.  Here I was my first Cardinals game and other people were sharing their best opening day memories with me.  It’s almost as if this is the North Pole and the elves get to come out to see tulips blossoming only on April 1.  Opening Day is the event of the spring here.

A couple of things that made it special:

1) The Budweiser Clydesdales.  I dislike Budweiser.  You won’t find it or any family products in my house.  However, it gave me chills to see the Clydesdales pulling the beer wagon around the stadium before the game, circling the stadium, delivering the World Series Trophy to home plate.  I’ve seen some great pre-games in my young life.  This is certainly one that is uniquely St. Louis and one that should make the top 20 best sports traditions.

2) Ever since there was a Model T, St. Louis has introduced its Cardinals on a Ford on opening day.  Chevy is the on-air official make of the St. Louis Cardinals, but Ford brings out the team in red and white Mustang convertibles for opening day.  NASCAR stole this idea from St. Louis.

3) Billy Bob Thornton is a St. Louis native (probably explains why Angelina went Brad) and he was in full effect on opening day.  He co-hosted the pre-game ceremonies complete with Cardinals jersey and cowboy boots, and red-nose and slurred speech.

4) REO Speedwagon is not dead.  They just have been awaiting the time they could sing the national anthem on opening day in St. Louis to support their new album release at Wal-Mart.

I bought a red shirt – camp shirt – to wear to the game.  Let me point out that it is NOT crimson, burgundy, or blood color.  Bright red.  That’s bad enough but not so bad that a bammer could accuse me of being a closet bammer.  No way Jose.

Buenas Noches.