St. Louis Cardinals: A Letter to the Spoiled Fans

It’s been a tough season for the St. Louis Cardinals. The hot and cold team has many fans frustrated.

Dear spoiled St. Louis Cardinals fans, it can only get better from here. I have lived on this Earth for 23 years. Although that’s not a long time, it’s still long enough to know that through the good and the bad, we have to stick with the team.

I have been a baseball fan for as long as I can remember. I’ve witnessed four World Series appearances, two wins and a lot of smiles on the faces of fans. This year though, has been different. The team isn’t winning, and the rival Chicago Cubs are the talk of Major League Baseball.

Here’s a question for you, when did this fan base become so negative? I was disappointed to get on Twitter Sunday afternoon to fine so many tweets like these:

Look, I get it. This team is frustrating to watch. Whatever happened to the term ‘best fans in baseball’? We used to be that. A group of fans that stuck with our team no matter what, win or lose.

The sad fact of the matter is, we’ve been spoiled as a fan base. We’ve grown to expect too much. Our grandparents were Cardinals fans, then our parents and now us. With each generation, came more and more success.

The franchise has won 11 World Championships. Mike Matheny has actually won 400 games as the manager. In fact, since he took over in 2012, no team in baseball has a better winning percentage.

It’s funny how the Chicago Cubs haven’t won a title since 1908. Cardinals fans use to feast on that, but now things have changed. The Cubs have earned our respect. Their fans are the ones laughing at us, a spoiled fan base.

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It used to be a running joke among Cardinals fans,. “Oh, maybe next year” was what we’d say, when the Cubs eliminated themselves from playoff contention for the umpteenth time. Well now, maybe it’s the Cardinals fans that will be saying that about 2017.

It’s a lesson we were all taught at a young age, we can’t always win. It’s really that simple. You’re probably thinking, duh, you can’t win every game in a 162 game season. No, but you can win 100.

The Cardinals did it in 2015, but that was then. The historically low ERA for starting pitchers is no more, but hey, we got that offense everyone wanted.

Maybe it’s just human nature? We always want more, but can never settle for less. It’s a tough world we live in.

As Cardinals fans, we’ve witnessed a lot of success in St. Louis. We haven’t, however, had to witness a lot of bad times. It’s been nothing but good for the most part. We’ve been lucky.

Sure, the team isn’t the worst in baseball, but that doesn’t matter to the fan base. We just want to win every game. Maybe it’s the fear that the Cubs may take it all this year? Who could imagine having to witness that?

I realize I’m coming off as condescending, but I really do feel with all of you. A team we grew up watching win, has turned into a team that’s barely getting by.

I’m just as critical as anyone when it comes to the team. Believe me, it’s not fun for anyone to watch this team struggle. But please realize, it’s not because the manager makes questionable decisions.

It’s not because the starting pitching isn’t what it was last year. It’s not even because this team “sucks” as many put it. It’s because that’s how baseball is supposed to be.

The season is long, it’s a grind. It’s a game of patience. If you lack that, good luck, you’ll need it. If you have it, the team will thank you later.

I’m no different than all of you. I love this game, I love this team. Deep down I know you all do to, sometimes the things or people we love frustrate us to our breaking point. It’s unfortunate that almost two months into the season, many fans have hit theirs.

If you do anything else all season, I just ask that you remember all the good times this franchise has had in its history.

Next: More Trades Coming?

The moment you give up on this team, is the moment you’ve given up on baseball all together.

Sincerely,

Tyler Eddy