No Busch Series
The team from Texas beat my beloved St. Louis Cardinals last night. In the past few seasons, I've been wondering if the Cards are becoming the Atlanta Braves of the 21st Century - winning hordes of games every season only to peter out in October - and I'm afraid that my suspicions may be correct. But hell, at this point, I'm still happy to see the Cards in the post-season in the first place.
Last night's loss hit a bit harder than usual. That's it. I watched the final game ever to be played at this Busch Stadium. This was the building where I saw my first baseball game. It was a roadtrip with just me and my dad. It was a summer game in 1982 versus the Reds. Not only did I see Ozzie Smith come out, doing backflips, and Bruce Sutter - who looked a lot like my old man - pitch an inning, but Johnny Bench was still with Cincinnati, too. The Cards won that game and eventually won the World Series that fall. Dad and I got lost going back to the hotel and somehow wound up at a junkyard.
I'm going to miss those little arches that ring the top of the stadium. The pedestrian ramps that criss-cross to form the exoskeleton of the place. I know that these multi-purpose arenas (Busch was also once home to the NFL St. Louis Cardinals) have fallen out of favor in the past decade, but these ugly behemoths are what I'm used to. I've let it go by now. It's not like I have any financial stake in the Cardinals organization or even live in Missouri. But for about five minutes, I was a damp little headcase.
The new Busch Stadium should be all right, I guess. You can definitely see the Arch better, for what it's worth. There's a larger-than-life Fenway design going on here. At least it's outdoors, and there's no freakin' swimming pool or waterslide built in there. Hopefully, the Cardinals can celebrate their inaugural season at the new ballpark with a World Series title.
Until then, go White Sox.
posted by tre @ 11:06 AM
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