Cardinals Opening Day: A Bittersweet Holiday

Today, my life returns to normal. Today, I welcome the St. Louis Cardinals lovingly back into my life, ready for 12 in '12. Today has typically been like Christmas for me, but this year's Opening Day is bittersweet. 

Sweet, because I now have something to do every night from now until October. Whether it's going to games or watching them from home, watching Cardinals baseball is my favorite thing to do. 

Bitter, because it will be my first baseball season without my dad. My dad has molded me into the best Cardinals fan I could be. Since I was a little girl I can remember my dad quizzing me, asking how many balls in a walk, strikes in an out, outs in an inning, who's on first, who's winning, what's the score, and so on. I wasn't allowed to go to a Cardinals game until I knew my baseball. I went to my first game when I was nine, and I've been in love ever since.

No matter how bad things would get between my dad and I, or how mad we were each other, we always had baseball to fall back on. 

In fact, that was one of my dad's trademark "subject changers." When my grandma would go on and on about something he's heard a million times, or when someone was talking about something that he didn't want to talk about, or didn't care to, he would change the subject with, "So how 'bout them Cardinals?" And that's when you knew the conversation was over. But that was my dad, short and to the point. :)

I think some of my dad's proudest moments were when I could spout off random Cardinals facts or statistics about the team, whether past or present. One of the best compliments someone could give him was, "Bob, you raised a good Cardinals fan." And I prided myself on that, too. He took joy in the fact that I can talk baseball with the best of them, and I actually know what I'm talking about (most of the time). And he loved nothing more than to go to a game together and talk nothing but baseball. 

We went to our first opening day in 2005, and my dad, sister and I all played hooky that day, whether from school or work, and it is still one of my favorite memories. I didn't go to another opening day until 2010, because I was always away at college. But since then, I vowed to myself I would make every opening day a holiday, and I would always find a way to go to the game. So far, I've managed to stay true to that promise. 

Yes, I will be going to the Cardinals home opener on Friday, April 13, this year against the Cubbies! I was fortunate enough to get tickets and I cannot wait! 

Although I'm not sure what I'm going to do this year when I don't have my dad to text or call before, during and after every Cardinals game... But I will know that he will be there, watching it with me, no matter where I am. And that's pretty cool.