Thought of the Day 10.12.09

St. Louis Cardinals fans have an amazing reputation. We are widely known for being knowledgeable and fair about the game of baseball, but we are equally famous for being patient, forgiving, and encouraging with our players.

Whereas other cities regularly boo ex-players, Cards fans always cheer them. If someone makes a great play, even on the other team, we still applaud. And even when someone messes up, we soon remind them with our support that we still believe in them. About the only way to alienate us is to not respect the game by not trying your hardest.

New fans learn all this by example, and continuing this tradition becomes a matter of pride for us. As a result, players love to play in St. Louis and hate to leave. I expect all this will again have been shown over the weekend by the crowd’s positive response to Matt Holiday, whose error cost us game 2 against LA.
I really hope that someday my religious team’s fan base will have earned as good a reputation as my sports team’s fan base already enjoys.