I know… I know… I just talked about baseball on Friday.  If you can’t tell though, I’m pretty excited that a) many of the Cardinals pitchers are already in Jupiter (not the planet – Jupiter, Florida) and b) the date for them to actually report is this week.  By the time opening day arrives, I’ll have run out of baseball topics.  (By the time opening day gets here, I’ll have a kid… WEIRD!!!)

I wanted to bring up a little strange enigma within my family.  As mentioned previously, the Cardinals are my favorite team.  They’re my favorite team because they’re my dad’s favorite team. They’re my dad’s favorite team because… he wanted to be different.  In truth, and I will admit it here, I actually come from a line of Cub fans.  Cubs versus Cardinals is the rivalry everyone forgets about.  ESPN is too concerned with the Red Sox v. Yankees (Actually the Red Sox v anyone and the Yankees v Anyone… it’s pretty ridiculous..) and I think the Cubs/Cardinals rivalry gets lost in the hubbub of the big media markets on the coast.

You see, Cardinal fans love making things like this:




While Cub fans enjoy making things like this:


Honestly though, I’m not gonna lie to say I’m not the best Cardinals fan.  Mainly because I root for the Cubs in certain situations.  Most of that has to do with the fact that my Uncle John is another big reason for my extreme interest in baseball.  Even though he despises the Cardinals, he would always take me to games as a kid. 

Then when the Cubs were in the playoffs (remember that time in the 1990s?), Uncle John took me to Wrigley Field for game 3 of the NLDS.  You haven’t really experienced baseball until your at Wrigley Field during a playoff game.  It happens rarely enough, I can say that.  
So while my Grandpa (on the right)
And my Grandma:
Raised my Uncle to love the Cubs. My Dad became a Cardinals fan
And so did I…
…but with my Grandma being born a long time ago and knowing she’s never experienced a World Series victory and know my Uncle watches almost every game of the Cubs season, there’s always going to be a part of my DNA pulling for the Cubs.

February 17.  It’s around this time each year that something amazing happens.  Pitchers and Catchers report to Spring Training in Arizona and Florida.  Specifically, Cardinal Pitchers and Cardinal Catchers head to Jupiter, Florida to begin preparation for Spring Training Games and for the Regular season.

This season is a bit different than normal.  First of all, on opening day, I’m going to be a father.  For some reason, being a father and a baseball fan has some sort of mystique about it.  I watch football, but I’m not that interested in it.  I enjoy basketball, but I can do with or without it.  I love baseball.  I love the strategy.  I love the fact that some people find it boring, because it means you see something special in it that others can’t (similar to Robert Altman films).  I love the crack of the bat.  I love the fact that the beginning of Spring Training or the Season means the weather is warming up and summer is coming.  There’s just so much to love about it.

I can remember being young and watching a Cardinals game with my Dad and thinking about how boring it was.  I wonder if Junior will think the same.

I remember my Dad coming home after the Mark McGwire trade and impersonating his batting stance to tell me the Cardinal got him in a trade.

I remember sitting in the kitchen watching the opening day of the baseball season when McGwire began his record breaking pace.  (The memory is slightly tainted now.)

I remember Gary Gaetti’s Grand Slam in Game 3 of the 1996 NLCS and thinking there’s no way the Cardinals can lose now!

I remember game 5, 6, and 7 of the 1996 NLCS when the Atlanta Braves outscored the Cardinal 32-1 and being absolutely heartbroken.

I remember vividly the no-hitters of Bud Smith and Jose Jiminez. 

I remember Fernado Tatis hitting two grand slams in one inning. 

The World Series win of 2006.

Joe McEwing.

The heart break of other post-season losses.

Most importantly though, I loved and still love hearing my dad tell stories about baseball players that I never got to see.  Players in the 1960s and 1970s when he was a kid and a young adult.  I feel as though there’s something special about being able to tell my son those same stories.  To share with him the memories above (and a whole bunch of other ones) seems almost magical.

And while he’ll have no idea what’s happening, I’m excited that he’ll be here for Opening Day 2010… April 5 versus Cincinnati on ESPN.