Thursday, October 24, 2013

Boston Bound to Watch the Cardinals Play the Red Sox -- and World Series Memories

I’m so happy that my niece left St. Louis early this morning bound for Boston—not that she’s leaving town, but that she will get to watch the St. Louis Cardinals play the Boston Red Sox tonight in Game 2 of the World Series at Fenway Park.

Talk about the luck of the Irish!

For baseball fans there's nothing like the thrill of being inside the stadium during a World Series game.
 
My one and only inside-the-stadium World Series experience was in 1964 when my sister Kathleen and I went to Game 7 and watched Bob Gibson and the St. Louis Cardinals defeat the New York Yankees. Our parents were huge Cardinal fans, but we still were surprised when they let us skip a day of high school to go to the game.
 
The night before, Kathleen and I bundled up in blankets, along with some of her friends, to spend the night  on Dodier Street outside Sportsman Park. On that chilly evening, we took turns running to the YMCA on Grand Avenue to warm up and use the bathroom.
 
Our efforts were rewarded when we bought $2 tickets to sit in the bleachers. In fact, we were able to buy two tickets each. We then sold our extra tickets for $5 a piece to a friend of my sister's, who undoubtedly resold those tickets for even more. But our combined $10 covered the cost of our admission with enough left over to buy snacks during the game.
 
Anyway, my niece is traveling to Massachusetts today to visit her good friend and former college roommate, who is married to a player on the New England Patriots football team, who also is from St. Louis and a Cardinal fan. I'm not sure how she scored her ticket for tonight's game, but you can bet it cost a lot more than $2.

After the Cardinals' ugly loss last night, I’m hoping she will bring along some of our family’s Irish luck while she’s cheering for the Red Birds. 

So, if you see a dark-haired, gray-eyed beauty sporting a St. Louis Cardinals cap in a sea of Boston Red Sox fans, be sure to wave.

No doubt she will return home with lots of special memories of her own after watching the Cardinals win (I hope) a World Series game.

9 comments:

  1. I am keeping my fingers crossed...

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  2. I know she was jumping for joy last night!

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  3. Hi Sioux,
    Keeping your fingers crossed worked!

    Hi Linda,
    I bet she was, along with the other Cardinal fans at the stadium

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  4. When I was a kid, my dad always took us to the games when Bob Gibson was pitching. That's because "Gibby" didn't waste any time. I also remember that I did NOT like the smell of the brewery as we passed by.

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  5. Your 1964 memory is a great one, Donna. Thanks for sharing it. Even though I grew up in New England I was never a huge Red Sox fan (though I never missed a Pats game). Here in Atlanta I followed the Braves for years but still hold a grudge from the strike during the world series many moons ago. I thought all of baseball dissed the fans by walking when they did and I've never quite forgiven them. My husband says I need to get over it. LOL I guess maybe it's time. :)

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  6. I think the Cardinals won that game, right? She took some good Irish luck with her, too.

    Loved your story. I've never been to a World Series game.

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