My Cardinals Weekend: First Edition

Pictured on the Left: One rabid Cardinals fan proudly dons his rally cap and beads while unknowingly embarrassing his otherwise normal son. Notice the calm demeanor of every other fan in the background.

Yes, it was Opening Day...sort of...but before I explain the picture on the left, I believe a quick recap of the entire weekend is in order.

The Plan: Having never been to Opening Day in Busch Stadium (or any other stadium for that matter), I was particularly excited about attending my first St. Louis Cardinals Opening Day experience. Of course, I could not simply attend the game and go home...oh, no...that would be much too easy. An event such as this demands celebration...an entire WEEKEND of festivities, no less! And so, a plan was hatched.

On Saturday - Attend the Springfield Cardinals vs. St. Louis Cardinals exhibition game. On Sunday - a spirited drive to St. Louis for family fun and hotel amenities. On Monday - Opening Day at Busch Stadium (after thoroughly partaking of the pre-game festivities).

The Weather: Let's just say, Noah and Chilly Willy would have been proud. Saturday's Springfield game was cold and windy. The rain came early but stopped for good just before game time. Lucky for us, our seats were on the one side of the stadium blocked from the wind - lucky little sh*** we are, huh? Not quite... After Springfield, it was on to St. Louis - as was the weather. The game on Monday afternoon was incredible! Electric atmosphere, hall of fame players in convertibles, Budweiser Clydesdale's on the field, an Albert Pujols homerun, and a 5 - 1 Cardinals lead by the third inning. Wow, what a game! Then...the rain came...and washed the baseball out...So...it was rescheduled for Tuesday night. The weather? Dry and frigid...I'm not kidding...like 42 degrees...in wind-infested bleacher seats. We survived...

The Games: The Springfield game was understandably low-key. The last Spring Training game before the season...Double-A competition...but it was still fun. When will you ever be able to get that close to a game played by Pujols and the Cardinals for 9 bucks a ticket??? The first St. Louis game was a blast...Opening Day atmosphere was in full swing...but the second game, the one that counted, was plagued by sparse fan turnout and cold weather. No festivities were scheduled, and the Cardinals lost by a score of 2 - 1 (without allowing a single earned run - one scored due to an error and the other due to a bases loaded walk). Of course, I had a great time, but it wasn't quite the same for my two cohorts.

The Money: Well, let's see...we spent $300 for 3 bleacher seats...a total of $275 for two nights in a hotel...about $105 - 135 for ballpark food and drinks...and a bit more here and there (additional food, a souvenir, and a half-hour planetarium show). To sum it up, let's see what our contestants had to say about the expense:

Kevin:

"Totally worth it!!! Let's do it again next weekend!!!"

Kim:

"You better remember this for a long, LONG time...'cause we ain't never spendin' that kind of money on baseball again."

Dayan:

"I'm rich!"

Well...that's enough for now...stay tuned for more Cardinals Weekend reports...

GO CARDS!!!!