....many moons ago, my grandfather would get a big block of tickets for the cardinal games and divide them among the children and grandchildren for the summer. our family would typically get to go to 1 or 2 games a summer (we lived approximately 2 1/2 hours away from st. louis). those trips are etched in my mind. we would generally go to afternoon games since the long drive home was more difficult on my dad at night. if we did happen to get to go to a night game, tim (my brother) and i were generally asleep before we made it out of the parking garage. i can remember thinking that the parking garage was the coolest thing ever and i never wanted to cease driving around the spirals. now, after becoming the driver for such a place, i'm much happier getting out quickly and without incident.
....so it is with great sadness that i (along with many, many other people) wish farewell to this building that was our childhood. there is something magical about a ballpark and i still get nervous to this day when i take my first steps out of the concourse and into the field viewing area of the stadium. i hope to treasure the memory of that feeling forever. the news recently indicated that busch stadium will fall in 35 seconds. how can you even sum up all the memories in those brief seconds??
...i'm sure at some other point this summer i will mention the ballpark--i am missing it already. i am not prepared for the new and improved busch...i only wish to keep the busch that i have known and loved for this past quarter century.
the pictures below are ones that i took at my first game this year. the outfield for new busch is going to be where the stadium is now. makes for an impressive view of the construction process when you go to the game.
new busch
6 comments:
Very good entry, and I can relate to some degree...so many childhood memories wrapped up in a location, or a home or a city...
very good imagery concerning the amount of time it will take to destroy all of those memories...the hours that were spent at that park by so many, gone in 35 seconds...
good stuff.
btw...the "good stuff" at the end there was referring to your entry, not the fact that they are destroying busch stadium.
thank you...i am not a word-based person and putting into writing the feelings i have for busch stadium is something that i can never achieve the way others have.
the smells that i can associate with the park as well as the sights and sounds are just something i've never found words to express.
as an addendum: i feel it soul-bearing to add that i get completely choked up every time the 9th inning rolls around and the cardinals are winning. every single time, the crowd will stand for the last strike and most often the last out. the electricity in that standing ovation along with the true love for their team is something that binds the city together at that one brief moment as izzy gets the save.
Wow, Erin, great post! I got weepy and I'm not even a Cardinals fan, much less a baseball fan. :)
I love those kinds of memories. The ones that stick with you from childhood that you never forget when you smell that aroma or hear that sound that just reminds you of that.
I'm very much that way in all aspects. I was driving down a road the other day that I drove a lot for the last few years in previous employment and just got a warm, fuzzy feeling. Funny how that works.
First, I want to say that you did a fine job putting your feelings into words...I got some chills even as I read your entry.
on your addendum...I know what you mean. when I said that I can relate to some degree in my previous comment, part of what I was thinking about was going to see my Titans play in Nashville.
I have always been a big sports fan...Auburn football, Titan's football, buffalo sabre's hockey...people that are not true sports fans cannot relate 100% to the emotions that you are trying to share. There is just something about being a fan amongst 30,000 other fans trying to spur your team on to victory week after week.
however, I do think that they can relate somewhat. I think people are programed with a desire to want to be a part of something that is bigger than themselves...whether they know that or not. As a group of fans is cheering on their team, it is kind of like they are a part of their team's success.
Nice post. You know me and my position on the whole Cardinals thing. I don't get it. But it was a good post none the less. Might be similar to the way I felt when my grandparents sold their farm and moved to Marble Hill. There were a lot of memories in their house. Luckily though, those memoriess haven't started fading. What keeps fading is where I put my keys, sunglasses, wallet, and standing in the shower forgetting whether or not I actually washed my hair in the and doing it again (possibly) just in case. Getting old sucks! LOL
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