Gregory Freeman: Here, Even A Non-Sports Fan Roots For The Cards. P-D 4/5/1998

Headline: HERE, EVEN A NON-SPORTS FAN ROOTS FOR THE CARDS
Reporter: By Gregory Freeman

Publication: ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
Last Printed: Sun., Apr. 5, 1998
Section: NEWS ANALYSIS, Page: B5, Edition: FIVE STAR LIFT

* A columnist confesses he is `sports impaired.' But it is impossible to be a St. Louisan and not cheer loudly for the Redbirds.

FLY HIGH, REDBIRDS

If you're a regular reader of this column, you know I'm not a sports fan.
   Sports don't particularly interest me. This disgusts people regularly, especially those who are very much into sports.
   From time to time, readers will write me, asking my opinion about something going on in sports. I usually have to reply, "beats me."
   A colleague tried to talk to me the other day about Reggie White, only to have me ask, "Who's Reggie White?" (If you're as uninitiated as I am, I've since learned that he's a player for the Green Bay Packers.)

I never cared for sports much. My dad used to try to interest me in it. He'd try to get me to watch the Big Game, whatever the Big Game happened to be at the time. I was bored to tears.
   He tried to get me to play sports. I was never interested. It's probably why I'm so fat today.
   Lorraine Kee, a reporter here who used to write sports, has dubbed me "sports impaired." I can't really disagree with her.
   Some of you may even recall a column I wrote several years ago about attending my first and only hockey game and confusing shots on goal with the score.

So with baseball season starting last week, you probably figure I'm oblivious to it, right?
   Wrong.
   You see, I'm a St. Louisan.
   Born and raised here. It is impossible to be a St. Louisan and not be a Cardinals fan.
   When I was a kid, I used to get "straight A" tickets to the ballgame, and my Dad and I would go several times each year. I loved the game. I loved the hot dogs and popcorn and soda, too, but I really loved the game as well.
   One of my favorite memories as a youngster is sitting on my grandfather's lap as he listened to Cardinals games on KMOX on his old transistor radio. I can still hear Harry Caray yelling, "It might be . . . It could be . . . Holy cow! It's a home run!"
   When I graduated from college, I worked for a newspaper in the Detroit area. You think I was a Tigers fan? Not on your life. I continued to follow my beloved Cards.

I'm not a fair-weather Birds fan. I follow and cheer on the team in good years and bad. Even in those years when late August arrives and it seems as if the Cardinals have absolutely no chance of making it to the World Series, my eternal optimism continues, always certain that the Redbirds can somehow pull it off.
Over the years, my passion for the Cards has continued, and I've tried to pass that passion on to my son. We've attended games over the years, and he's now attended a few on his own. So the baseball tradition of the Freeman men continues.

What is it about the Cardinals that grips even those like me, those of us who are the least interested in sports?
Maybe it's the loyalty. The Cardinals are St. Louis. They represent all of us. Like the city itself, they sometimes have their detractors, who think they've seen their better days. But they also have plenty of supporters who know that the team is getting better and that we've got to support them. To be a St. Louisan and not support the Cardinals is akin to attending a baseball game and not standing up for the "Star Spangled Banner." It's just not done.

I'll continue to ignore the Blues and the Rams and the other teams. I won't be watching basketball.
   But I'll stay on top of the Cards and attend several ballgames this year to see my team beat the pants off of whomever they'll face on a given day.
   And I'll remain optimistic that this will be the year we head to the World Series.
   After all, we're St. Louis. How can we lose?

Daniel Schesch - Webweaver

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