Uh, whoops...
9/12/2009
That's better. My, how time flies. Yes, that first picture is a 12 year old Andrew, about to watch Mark McGwire hit 2 home runs in one game against the Chicago Cubs in old Busch Stadium in 1999. Oh, 12 year old Andrew. There is so much to warn you about. Including that 10 hour drive that you decided to attempt on 4 hours of sleep from Minneapolis to St. Louis. Dumbass.
The second picture is of road-weary 22 year old Andrew, who made it to St. Louis and new Busch Stadium in time for the 3 pm (thank you, FOX national telecast!) first pitch.
Yes, I was very, very tired taking in this game, and as a result didn't soak in much of new Busch Stadium, which opened in 2006 and hosted the All-Star Game just a couple of months ago. I did the standard walk around the main concourse, but wasn't particularly blown away or interested in any of the stuff down there. After seeing quite a few stadiums now, the new ones kind of tend to blend together. There's food, maybe a local specialty, a big team shop, maybe a rotunda behind home plate, and a place to look at the field and take pictures. Busch Stadium has all of the above, and really doesn't separate itself much from the other newer stadiums.
The exterior is brick, to evoke old time baseball (yawn), and the seats are all red, which kind of gives it the look of being full all the time when it really isn't.
The food is nothing special. Standard ballpark food and Hardee's. I'm still too scared to try Hardee's. Yes, I'm aware that it is probably exactly the same as Carl's Jr., but something about the name "Hardee's" just seems wrong to me. I know, weird, right?
The most distinctive thing about Busch Stadium is the view of the St. Louis skyline and the Arch, which from my seat was pretty damn cool. The weird 3PM start time allowed for some cool twilight views of downtown as the sun went down late in the game.
A lot is said about the "Cardinal Experience." It is often said that St. Louis is the "best baseball city in America" and that St. Louis has the most knowledgeable and passionate fans. It might be due to the fatigue, but I call BS. I didn't see or hear anything that would lead me to call Cardinal fans any better than any other fans that I have seen through this trip. Yes, they are pretty good fans, and the atmosphere was pretty good (well, until Ryan Franklin blew the save), but the absolute best fans? That's debateable.
St. Louis is a baseball town, I will give them that. Then again, you kind of have to be when your other options are the Rams, the Blues, and Mizzou.
The Cardinals do have great tradition and have been the team of some of the games greatest players, including current incarnation, Albert Pujols. The history of the franchise is proudly displayed throughout the Stadium, including the statues outside of the left field gate of Stan "The Man" Musial, Ozzie Smith, and others.
Busch Stadium is a nice enough place, but didn't offer much to draw me back. There aren't any real bad things to say about it, but there aren't many things that really set it apart from the others, either. If I were to recommend a family trip to see the Cardinals in St. Louis, it would be to see Albert Pujols play, and not necessarily to see the stadium.
You can see all of my Busch Stadium pictures here.
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