Beech Tree News Network

I never really liked baseball growing up.  The games were just too long.  I mean, how does anyone expect a little kid to sit for 3 to 3 and a half hours to watch a game whose final score might be 1-0? This was bad news for me, as whenever I’d go visit my grandparents in Rockport, my grandpa had a baseball game on every Saturday and Sunday afternoon.  I’d most likely brought some toys from home.  I’d play with them in the floor, or bedroom since I was a shy kid, while the game was on.
Daddy Gran(as we called him) was a Los Angeles Dodgers fan.  I would later find this funny, as Rockport is about as far away from Los Angeles as you could get.  He must’ve been a Tommy Lasorda fan.  Then there was my Uncle Loren(who was most likely a Great Uncle), who was a devout Chicago Cubs fan.  Dad told me a story of how someone took Uncle Loren to a Cubs game and bought him a Cubs hat.  You’d have thought the guy gave him $100.  Before you say “that’s not much”, remember that $100 was a lot of money back in those days.
If I didn’t pay any attention to baseball growing up, if I didn’t learn to love it by the time I was a teen, why now? I wouldn’t say I love baseball.  I’m a selective fan.  While my dad looks at the standings and will tell me about a certain team that’s not St. Louis that’s climbing the ranks, I’m strictly for the St. Louis Cardinals.  Why? I blame, I mean credit, my brother-in-law. 
Brock, being originally from St. Louis, is a life-long fan of the Cardinals just as I’m a life-long fan of Kentucky basketball.  When my sister met Brock, I don’t even know if she’d watched an MLB game in full.  Our family is all about UK basketball.  It’s pretty ironic because my bestie is in the same boat.  Cassie didn’t care about sports(still doesn’t much).  Then she met her husband and now she’s a fan.  Well, she watches.  She’s like me: when it gets to be a blowout not in the Cardinals’ favor, she’s out. 
I once got a text from my sister when I sent a message to her about a Cardinals game.  She replied “what’s happened to my family”? An alien abduction, perhaps? The night they won one of their last championship, my family and I went to a concert.  I’m fairly certain Brock would’ve rather stayed and watched the clinching game instead of recording it.  Amy wanted to go to the concert.  You know the rules, guys.  Don’t act like you don’t. 
So, am I now bummed when the Cardinals lose? A little.  Am I as bummed as I’d be if Kentucky loses, much less loses in the NCAA Tournament? Not even close! As I write this, the Cardinals trail the Cubs 2-1 in a five game series.  I have friends who are Cubs fans.  Is it as rough as having friends who are Duke basketball fans? Not for me. 
There you have it.  That is how I became a St Louis Cardinals fan.  As of now, the only sports I don’t do are golf and hockey.  So, if I get a girlfriend who likes golf… well, let’s not even go there.