As fighting between Democrats and Republicans bring the federal government to a screeching halt, much to the chagrin of the folks they supposedly represent, it’s evident the two groups are polar opposites in terms of their ideology in running the country. Meanwhile, in the St. Louis sports world, though the two most-powerful sports entities are not feuding, they most certainty fall on opposite ends of the spectrum when it comes to sustaining a winning franchise.
St. Louis has long been considered a “baseball town.” In fact, the Gateway City has been dubbed the “Best Baseball Town in America” by so many publications and pundits over the years that we now accept it as fact. The sky is blue. The Cubs are terrible. St. Louis is baseball’s land of milk and honey.
For me, there’s no secret why the Redbirds rule the roost when it comes to St. Louis sports. They just keep on winning. Despite being considered a small-market team, the Cardinals have won the second-most World Series titles in MLB history (behind the uber-market New York Yankees, of course). Even when they don’t win the big one, the team is consistently competitive. Since the year 2000, the Cards have reached the playoffs 10 times, including this year’s finish atop the National League standings. The team only posted one sub-.500 finish during that time, finishing 78-84 in 2007, still good enough for third place in the NL Central.
The Cardinals have won on the backs of big-named, high-priced stars like Mark McGwire and Albert Pujols as well as on the shoulders of under-appreciated, non-descript stars like David Eckstein, David Freese and Matt Carpenter. Unsurprisingly, the Cardinals continued success has translated into consistent sell-outs, a high level of fan interest over overall warm, fuzzy feelings about the franchise.
The strategies for success have been varied. During the Walt Jocketty and Tony LaRussa era, the strategy was to bring in big names and big bats via free agency or trade. The team wasn’t as focused on drafting and developing players because it didn’t need to be. Walt the wizard knew how to pull his magical strings to bring over championship-caliber players. Current GM John Mozeliak prefers to focus on drafting and development. He won’t hesitate to spend the big bucks to land a key component but would much rather reward a longtime contributor like Yadier Molina than going fishing for the latest, overpriced superstar each offseason.
Meanwhile, a few blocks down the road, the St. Louis Rams are struggling to find consistency and keep the Edward Jones Dome filled with fans. The Rams are already at a disadvantage because the team does not have the same, long-illustrious history in St. Louis. The Los Angeles Rams had a good run in the 1970s, with its famed defense. But in St. Louis, the team has only posted a few successful and exciting seasons. The franchise’s lone Super Bowl victory in 1999 seems like more of a flash in the pan stroke of good luck than something built by design. The Colts essentially gave away Marshall Faulk in his prime and Kurt Warner fell from behind a grocery store shelf into the starting lineup and produced one of the most magical seasons in sports history – one that sadly, could never be duplicated.
Since the Rams 12-4 finish in 2003, the team has failed to finish a single season with a winning record. They did limp into the playoffs with an 8-8 record in 2004, but St. Louis football fans have endured nearly a decade of losing football. Bad drafts, awful coaching and terrible free agent signings plagued the franchise for years.
Things should be getting better with the seemingly smart and competent leadership from Head Coach Jeff Fisher and GM Les Snead, but the team’s current 1-3 start has some fans questioning whether the team really is headed in the right direction. To be fair, the youngest team in the NFL is clearly in the midst of a rebuilding process. To be blunt, that rebuilding process is now approaching double-digit seasons. Back at Busch, the Redbirds said goodbye to a Hall of Fame-bound coach and first baseman and simply reloaded on the fly for more title runs.
The Rams long, drawn out stadium talks don’t help their situation. Nobody really knows what’s going on regarding a new Rams facility. It’s seems like more Hatfields and McCoys Democrats and Republicans with the current ownership and local government. The negotiations between the Cardinals owners and the City of St. Louis weren’t nearly as long or secretive when they upgraded from Busch Stadium 2.0 to 3.0. Sure there were random, blasphemous threats about moving the team across the river or out into the ‘burbs but everyone knew the Redbirds would stay right downtown. Nobody really knows where the Rams will land once the stadium lease plays out. Many, myself included, figure they will remain in town, but nobody is sure.
So it’s not surprising that while the Cardinals have found its way back to the playoffs and have championship aspirations, Rams fans are hoping the team can find its running game and defensive backbone to beat the lowly Jacksonville Jaguars. For now, it seems the two franchises will remain polar opposites. The difference between sports and politics, however, is that the Cardinals shutting down the city would be great for St. Louis.
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