Favorite Things: September Baseball and a Cool Breeze
September 21, 2012
This week we took our second trip to St. Louis this season to see the Cardinals play the Houston Astros. We got on the road early as we had booked a stadium tour at 2:00 p.m. Each trip is awesome in its own way, but this one may be the best yet.
We stopped in at the Westin Hotel across from the ballpark. It’s a beautiful hotel within steps of the ballpark. As we sat down in the nearly-empty grill off the lobby, we noticed a guy sitting in the corner by himself, clearly engrossed in whatever was on his iPad and in his earbuds. He made no eye contact and was eating a large bowl of pasta.
I turned to Jim and said, “That’s an Astros player, and from the look of him and the way he’s acting, I’m guessing he’s the starting pitcher.” Jim sort of nodded in that “Yes, dear, I’m sure you’re right” kinda way. Y’all know what I’m talking about.
So we head to the stadium for our tour. The first place they take us is the dugout. And right here is where I start to freak out. Imagine in a couple of hours my favorite players will be right where I’m standing now.
As always, we did enjoy the game, though the Astros didn’t make it much of a contest. The Cardinals won easily, 5 – 0 and it was great to see former Memphis Redbird Lance Lynn throw five-and-two-thirds innings with two hits and two walks.
The gameday atmosphere in St. Louis is a little like a big SEC football game or the Final Four – there’s a sea of red everywhere, probably more fans than not wearing Cardinal logo gear and everyone is excited and friendly. The hotel and restaurant personnel are happy to share their stories of World Series craziness and everyone cares about the Cardinals. It’s fun to be part of the excitement and I imagine that’s a lot like how it would feel to be a football fan.
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