I would like to announce my triumphant return to blogging. Triumphant, of course, because I am still celebrating the Cinderella-story World Series victory by my St. Louis Cardinals. Or am I already celebrating next year’s repeat? Or am I getting a little ahead of myself…
Regardless, no one outside of Redbird Nation expected them to win (or even get into the playoffs, for that matter) and they epitomized the mentality that once you make the post-season the regular season *doesn’t matter*. It wasn’t a juggernaut lineup or potent starting rotation or dazzling defense—it was timely hitting and timely pitching. Suppan, Rolen, Weaver, Taguchi, Wainright, and last, but certainly not least, Little David Eckstein all stepped up in a huge way at the right times. Then combine that with LaRussa pulling the right strings from the foxhole.
I do realize that by now any one of our few readers must be sick and tired of my plugs for St. Louis and right now you must be rolling your eyes (if you’ve even read this far), but I tell you, it is a tremendous feeling when your team finally wins it all. I became a Bulls fan at the height of their success, amid the Jordan era while winning championships, and it almost became expected and certainly less thrilling. But if you’ve been waiting your entire life for your team to get to the top, especially after fear they may have missed their chance two years earlier and came into this October huge underdogs, it is so much sweeter. Cale, you know what I'm talking about. (I will admit their drought hasn’t been my entire life, as their last WS title was in 1982—twenty-three days after I was born. I also looked up the date of my birth and it happened to be the very day St. Louis won its very first division title. You see, being a Cardinal was my destiny.)
Anyways, I will cease gloating and just sit here with the permanent grin that will last me through the off-season. Come April we get to do it all over again, with new heroes and new villains and new underdogs, and I can’t wait. Maybe next year we’ll get that White Sox-Cardinals October matchup. Maybe it’ll be the Cubs. Riiight. Either way, baseball truly is a sport unlike any other.
UPDATE: I think The Onion speaks on behalf of all non-Cardinal fans.
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