I didn’t realize how much I missed going to a baseball game until I got invited by a friend to attend.  during the summer, I listened to the St. Louis Cardinals on the radio. I love the radio announcers, but nothing is quite as exciting as going to a game. There are so many things I missed: the smell of food, listening to the fans cheering and many others. First though, let's look at some of the changes Busch Stadium has made due to COVID 19.

            Upon entering the stadium, you are asked to wear a mask over your nose and mouth. you can keep your keys, wallet and cellphone in your pockets. However, bags and purses no bigger than 6 by 8 inches are allowed. Keep in mind, there is no paper ticketing and only cashless transactions. The seats are grouped together in pods (four or less) with at least 6 feet between.

The Smell of Food

            How many of you enjoy a nice, big juicy burger or mouthwatering nachos? These will probably have your refrigerator running for its life because it doesn't want to be looked into. I love to eat at the ball game and I don't know about you, but find the food to be cooked to perfection. The food is easy to carry as well. Instead of getting handed this big soggy mess, you are presented this box with everything neatly inside. I ended up waiting on having food and getting a drink instead. Please note: if you get a soda, the concession stand does not offer straws due to COVID. Instead, the lid has a hole in it for drinking. Later during the game, I had the opportunity to eat a brought worst, popcorn and peanuts. All of it was very good. I don't usually like popcorn, but it had butter on it and that is the best part! My friend tried to teach me how to break the peanuts open. I did learn a little bit, but never fully got the hang of it. My friend ended up breaking the shell open and I ended up eating the soft stuff inside. Turns out, I like peanuts. I never thought I did, but I think it was just the fact that I had trouble getting them open.

Sounds

            The great thing about going to any event is the sounds you get to enjoy, but you might eventually get tired of hearing them after a while. With baseball however, you never get tired of them because they are ever changing. For example, when someone hits a home run, you get to hear the crack of the bat and the roar of the crowd. Although I don't drink beer very often, I did miss hearing the sound of the Bierman saying, “get your ice-cold bud light here.” During the 7th inning stretch, the crowd sang Take Me Out to the Ball Game. If your team is winning, that means they are really cool. They stay cool because they have a lot of fans in the stands watching. I guess the Cardinals didn't break a sweat even though it was like 80 or 75° that day. After each game, every baseball says to every bat, hey. We'll hit it off later.

Giveaways

            During some home games, Busch stadium gives away prizes to people. Upon attending, I got a Jack Buck statue. for those of you who don't know who Jack Buck is, he was a famous announcer for the St. Louis Cardinals beginning in 1969. He soon became identified by his trademark call of “that’s a winner” after every Cardinals victory. The coolest thing about getting the statue was that it talked.

The end of the game

            My friends and I ended up staying for the whole thing. We had nice conversations throughout. Although the stadium didn’t have full capacity, During the entire game you could still hear the crowd get pumped every time the home team scored. At the end of the game when the St. Louis Cardinals one, we heard some big and loud fireworks!  as the famous Jack Buck would say, “Go crazy folks, go crazy!” We ended up walking out with the crowd and everyone seemed happy they got to see a cardinals winner

            We all probably cannot wait until we can fully open up. Some restaurants, bars and sporting venues have already begun this process. If we keep wearing masks and continue to get vaccinated, we can probably expect getting back to normal will be quicker. A cardinal game was a great start to getting back!