November 20, 2009
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417 Magazine

Redbird Nation

A crazy Cardinal fan’s diagnosis of just why 417-land is so nuts about the Birds on the Bat.

By Matt Lemmon

(page 2 of 2)


Photo Kevin O'Riley

Matt is almost as rabid about this hot dog as he is about the Cardinals.
4. KTXR
It’s not precisely KTXR that did it, but KMOX, the booming AM station out of St. Louis that, until 2006, broadcast Cardinals games over much of the Midwest (all the way to Gulf of Mexico on clear nights, if old-timers are to be believed). Springfield’s own radio behemoth, KTXR (101.3 on our dials), is synonymous with St. Louis Cardinals baseball in Springfield—101.3 is on my radio presets, even though I don’t have much use for the easy-listening music on KTXR, which I and my family affectionately call “Cardinals Leftovers.”

5. The Lay of the Land
Until 1958, when the Dodgers and Giants left New York for the West Coast, St. Louis was the westernmost team in the Major Leagues. Let that sink in for a moment. Using KMOX as their launching pad, the Cardinals dominated the Midwestern baseball fanbase; Missouri, Arkansas, Tennessee, Kansas, Oklahoma—even parts of Iowa—were jumping ship on the Cubs because the games were so darn easy to hear. (John Grisham’s novel A Painted House—while not a baseball novel—does an excellent job of chronicling one rural Arkansas family’s nightly obsession with Cardinals baseball.)

When baseball expanded like crazy in the ’60s, adding “Midwestern” teams in Houston (Colt 45s, then Astros), Kansas City (Athletics, then Royals), Minnesota (Twins) and eventually Texas (Rangers), the Cardinals fan base did not shrink. Why give up on a good thing? As of today, the Cardinals have won four world championships since 1960. Those other teams combined? Three. (Two of them, ironically, won at the expense of the Cardinals; Kansas City in 1985 and Minnesota in 1987.)

6. It’s an Excuse to Drink Beer
Even though the Busch family sold the St. Louis Cardinals in 1996, the team keeps close ties with St. Louis-based Anheuser-Busch. (Those ties can be seen on the local level, too.) The stadium is named Busch Stadium (again)… it’s perhaps the best-known beer-to-team affiliation in pro sports.

In Springfield, even with our prohibitionist tendencies, this well-known affiliation is a bit liberating. “What dear? I can’t not drink a beer while I watch the game! What kind of fan do you think I am?” Am I the only person in Springfield who has this conversation? I think not.

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