Courtney - A simple story; the Cardinals as my lifestyle

1st warm up ball Yadi threw me.
Yes, I was crying in this photo. 

My story is simple; loving, living, and cheering for the St. Louis Cardinals is a lifestyle that I have chosen for myself and will continue to follow for…well…ever. I’ll start off my “about me” with a nice rant from my side of the fence regarding being a GIRL sports fanatic. For as long as I can remember, I have always received some “crap”, for lack of a better term, about being a girl, and loving sports. I don’t know why, but I’m the one that always got picked at for loving Mizzou (since I’m from Illinois…) and then, even though my friends were Cardinals fans, took the brunt of any argument that ever came up involving the Cardinals. I always (and still sometimes do) think that it’s because I’m a girl, who knows my stuff. Guys, in particular, would, and still do, call me out on something to try and make themselves feel better I guess. Better luck next time, boys. I think that this has only fueled the already raging fire of passion that I have for the Cardinals. It’s gotten better with “age” I suppose. Now-a-days, I’m actually able to engage in nice, calm conversations with guys, without the second guessing (most of the time). This isn’t to say all guy sports fans act this way, but the ones I’ve encountered seem to get all flustered when I know what I’m talking about. I know it’s hard, but times are changing boys, girls enjoy watching, talking about, and even playing sports. I think I’m on a mission to make a good name for girl sports fans everywhere.. I know this may be shocking, but when I go to games…I actually WATCH the game *gasp*. It drives me nutty to see people “dressed to impress” with their backs turned the whole game! You paid good money, look at the field for a few seconds. Okay, done with my rant. I just think it would be nice to get some credit every once in a while for just enjoying the game of baseball.

At the 2009 Home Run Derby...wishing Yadi a
Happy Birthday!  He's somewhere in the background
near my head...I think.  He saw the sign though! 

As many know, or find out after about 5 minutes of knowing me, I love everything to do with the St. Louis Cardinals. I think of it as a healthy obsession though. Everyone needs to have something that they are truly passionate about, and my passion is baseball. I may get too emotional sometimes, but I think I’ve learned to stop myself when I get too crazy, and come back to earth and remember that “it’s just a game”. But when I stop to think about this, it’s not just a game to me. I’ve been told many a time that during the off-season, I’m a different person, not unbearable to be around, just not totally, “Courtney”. I usually agree with this because well…it’s true. A majority of my childhood/early teen years involve memories having to do with the Cardinals and watching baseball makes me happy. Why shouldn’t I enjoy and invest a majority of my time into something that makes me a happy person? I can’t ever explain to people why baseball is such a big part of my life…it just is. I can’t tell you why I started crying like a baby when Yadi threw me the warm up ball during the 2009 season (and again in 2010!)…it just happened. I know it may seem silly to some people to get so overly emotional about “a game” but I always know that I’m not the only one. My sister has always been there to calm me down when people say negative things, about the Cards, that make me mad, or help me stop shaking in front of the entire bleacher section (in regards to the Yadi baseball incident). Recently, with the help of my sister, I’ve come to realize how extremely lucky I’ve been to be a Cardinals fan. Already, in just 20 years, I’ve witnessed some great things; the homerun battle between McGwire and Sosa in the late 90’s; playoff runs in ’04, ’05, and ’06, finally ending in celebration in 2006. With these fond memories come sad ones; the death of Darryl Kyle and Jack Buck in the same week, followed a few years later by Josh Hancock. I mean, I’ve already had great memories in one stadium, have watched it be torn down, and have already created new memories in a brand new 4-year-old stadium. With all that has happened in the past few years, I can’t wait to find out what happens in the next 20.

With Cadence at the 2005 NLDS.

I really can’t remember a time when I haven’t loved baseball. Even my earliest childhood memories involve watching and going to baseball games. I’ve gotten attached to many a Cardinal Player and with age have become even more attached to the “boys of summer”. One of my favorite memories happened 12 years ago. I remember it like it was yesterday. I was sitting in my basement, watching and getting very emotional when McGwire hit his 61st homerun. More recently, I remember jumping up on a couch in tears, having to hold my screams in a pillow because my younger brother was asleep, when Yadier Molina hit that BLAST of a homerun in Game 7 of the 2006 NLCS. And of course I’ll never forget that chilly night in October, when in celebration of the Cardinals 2006 World Series victory, I broke my friends’ wooden spoon banging it too hard on a pot outside. All these events gain significance to me every year, and one thing that has always remained the same, is having my sister there to enjoy it with. Even though, in the past, some celebrations have happened over the phone, she is always the first one I want to talk to and celebrate with. I’m so lucky to have a sister who I can share the ups and downs of the season with and I can’t wait to spend years and years to come watching our boys play the game we love. Cardinal’s players and seasons may come and go, but sharing in the excitement of Cardinals baseball with my sister will never change.

We think Yadi was waving directly at
me in this photo.

Like everyone else in Cardinal Nation this season, I’ve been pretty bummed with the overall outcome. Going into spring training, I was pumped beyond belief. I thought this team had an outstanding possibility of making it to the playoffs and even to the World Series. It’s been pretty disappointing to say the least, but I’ve always been a positive person and I know our boys will work even harder this offseason to bring some October Baseball back to St. Louis next year!

Thanks for letting me share and I hope it was somewhat enjoyable to read. When I’m not swamped by pharmacy school stuff, I hope to be able to write some more!

Here’s to a better 2011 season! :)