Facing Tough Competition

Having spent the better part of this millennium until recently in St. Louis I grew to become an avid follower of the Cardinals.   Time spent at the current Busch Stadium and its predecessor was a slice of baseball heaven.   St. Louis has arguably one of the best fan bases in all of the major leagues, attracting upwards of 3.5 million in annual attendance, good for second in overall turnstile counts the last three years in a metropolitan market that ranks 19 th in population.   Beyond numbers, though, Cardinals followers are a highly baseball-educated fan base.   Among those in the crowd, it is not uncommon to observe as many as three generations of family members in attendance, 80 year old ladies keeping score, and intelligent conversations about lefty-righty batting-pitching matchups.   A great appreciation of St. Louis baseball history exists.   From Dizzy Dean to Stan Musial, from Lou Brock to Ozzie Smith; from Budweiser Beer to Clydesdales; fr...