Oh to be a Dad and a Cardinal Fan

I haven't been that ecstatic in 20 years.  In 1985, I was 15 and a rabid Cards fan when Ozzie and Jack hit their shots and I went nuts.

Last night, I find myself a 35 year old married father of two little boys (ages 3 and 2) living in Northern California.  They were on the couch next to me in their Cardinal shirts and i was there in my Pujols jersey and hat through the whole game.  It was long past their bedtime but I couldn't put them to bed, they have to experience life in Cardinal Nation.

I taught both kids a chant for Pujols (Al-Bert Pu-jols clap clap clapclapclap) and we'd clap.  Throughout the game we'd cheer for the Cards and I had to be careful not to curse or they'd pick it up, but that game was gut wrenching.  We were doing the chant for Pujols in the ninth inning and I was thinking, hey, this is as much as you could ask - Carpenter on the mound in the game and Pujols at bat with a chance to win the game.  You couldn't say they were cheated.

Anyway, Pujols hit his shot and I went nuts.  I let out a reflexive yelp on first contact and then screamed to the top of my lungs, running around the living room and kitchen.  As I said, I hadn't been that excited in 20 years.

I looked back at my kids and they were both terrified and crying hysterically.  They had never seen their Dad out of control like that.  I had to settle down and explain how happy I was.  Reality check.

I have no idea how the rest of the games will go, Oswalt is a solid pitcher, as is Mulder, though I don't know why I have this small uneasy feeling deep in my sub-conscious.  Clemens vs. the entire staff echoes last year.  But regardless of what happens, this is a magical moment that I will remember forever.

I came to work today in a state of euphoria.  All my co-workers, here in San Francisco and from our other offices in LA, New York, Boston and even Chicago and London called to wish me well.  I think I must be one of the more vocal Cardinal fans in the company of 11,000 employees.  My office is a shrine to the Cardinals, from coffee mugs from 1982, 85 and 87 to a framed, signed poster of Stan Musial.  

At least we get to enjoy Busch one more time.  I will miss that place.  I took the wife and kids there this Memorial Day and we take the kids to the games the Cards play in San Francisco every year.  

I can only hope the new ballpark has some St. Louis specific charm to it, beyond serving toasted ravioli and the best pizza on the planet.  Where are the arches in the architecture?  Is there anything, beyond the view to signify this is a St. Louis ball park?

We'll see, but right now I'm just going to enjoy this.  And as I told my wife last night after she got home from work (she missed the game).  If we have a third son, his middle name will be Albert.