Driving East through Iowa, then South through Kansas City and again East along the I-70, I arrived in St Louis ready to meet with my friend and hosts for the next two nights Lisa and her boyfriend Casey.
As I had some time to kill before meeting up with them as they were at a dinner, I did what everyone does who is on their third trip to St Louis and went directly to the “St Louis Arch” to relax, unwind and try figure out how to fit the entire thing into one picture.
The Arch is a key monument and what most people identify St Louis with (the “body” of St Louis if you like), that represents “the gateway to the West”. Pretty cool and one of those things you see that truly never gets old.
I then met up with Lisa who introduced me to Casey and we all exchanged plesantries before hitting the hay at about 11:00pm.
The next day after taking care of some admin (read: do laundry), the three of us began pre gaming (with Casey’s other mate Dominic – absolutely hysterical guy), for what was going to be a RED HOT day both on and off the baseball diamond, for St Louis was scheduled to hit 35 degrees Celsius (or about 100 degrees Fahrenheit).
After ensuring we were all refreshed on the local drop, that is copious amounts of Bud Light, we got into an UBER destined for Busch Stadium.
As previously mentioned, if the St Louis Arch is the “body” of the city, then Busch Stadium and the St Louis Cardinals who play there represent the “soul”. Every St Louis local truly identifies with the Cardinals and take great pride in representing them as they in turn represent the city. It really is a baseball town especially now with the recent relocation of the NFL’s St Louis Rams to Los Angeles.
In saying that, it is cool to see a smaller town get so behind a team that is not very relatable as someone from Sydney where we have 50 different teams for each sport to argue about (well, except the Waratahs where we just argue with each other on how they’re going to screw up this season).
Please press play and listen to local St Louis legend Nelly’s song “Batter Up” before continuing to get in the mood.
Busch Stadium is a beautiful park that is a solid mix of classic baseball stadium design with modern amenities that you’d expect. With the Cardinals steeped in a winning tradition, reminders of past World Series and National League triumphs adorn most sections, and pictures and quotes from famous players are abundant.
The four us took our seats in the SCORTCHING HEAT, only surviving two innings at a time as we seeked refuge consistently in the cooler shaded breezeway areas of the stadium.
The action on the field was also just as hot as the temperature that day with the Cardinals starting off with a 2-run homer in the bottom of the first to reward the loyal fans braving the heat. The middle innings included plenty of hits for the Cards, however they were unable to convert any of these into runs, frustrating both players and managers before Miami would build and score a run to make it 2-1 in the top sixth. St Louis would erase this with a home run in the sixth and tack on another in the seventh to ultimately run away with the game 4-1.
Following the game and still feeling the heat, the four of us went to local St Louis institution “Oyster Bar”, where we had some more of the local drop (again, just Bud Lights) and sampled some delicious alligator (it tastes just like crocodile).
Casey then advised me that it was his Dad’s 60th birthday party at his parents place and asked me if I wanted to go. Knowing that I had an opportunity to make someone else’s birthday all about me (kidding – shoutout Nick Hale), I quickly accepted and we were on our way to Casey’s parents place out in the suburbs.
Casey’s parents were awesome, and ensured we always had a drink in our hand and plates were full (pretty sure my fat ass ate three burgers). It was a great end to an exciting day of baseball and family fun – although little did I know the day would not be over yet.
Upon leaving Casey’s parents, we went to the gas station to grab some more of the local drop (this time the “Blue Collar” Busch Beer), as Dominic and Casey wanted to teach me one of their favourite games called “Beer Dice” (or Dice beer I can’t remember whatever), whilst I controlled the music paying Aussie classics for the boys.
Basically, two players (and a referee) sit opposite each other on a short table with a glass of beer at each end and a line representing halfway. The object of the game is to throw the dice (ensuring it goes above the head line level) and land it into your opponent’s glass. If this is achieved, you score two points and they have to drink. Other ways of scoring points include throwing the dice in the air with it hitting the table and bouncing off – however this can be negated if the dice is caught.
I’ll be honest that the game does sound like shit the way I’m explaining it, but trust me, it is addicting and the three of us ended up playing for about four hours before we all retired to bed (read: passed out).
I’m now in Chicago (shouout to the legend Muley for putting me up tonight) following a 5 hour drive North (health is about a 6/10). I’m super pumped to be in this city as I’ve never been before, and I keep hearing how great the Chicago Cub’s Stadium “Wrigley Field” is.
Of further excitement, one of my good mates Dave Cohen (an avid follower and supporter of the Thirty before 30 journey) has decided to fly up from Atlanta for the weekend and hit the game – should be an absolute shit show!
Finally, tomorrow morning is also the Wallabies vs Ireland game from Brisbane. Given Chicago has a large Irish population, I’ll be getting up early, throwing on the green and gold and meeting up with former Santa Monica gun #10 and good friend of mine Mr Brian O’Shea – cannot wait!
Go Wallabies, go Chicago, go sports!
Thirty before 30 