From college to professional, from baseball to basketball and everything in between, “For the Love of the Game” is an opinionated look at sports throughout the nation and in the St. Louis area. This twice-monthly column discusses topics pertaining to the phenomenon of sports and what they mean to the writer.
Spencer Gleason
– Sports Editor –
A Sea of Red
With only 15 games left in the regular season, the St. Louis Cardinals are coming to the finish line of a frustrating year. The blame game can be pointed in any direction —General Manager John Mozeliak’s trade of outfielder Ryan Ludwick, Mark McGwire’s coaching of his hitters or Tony LaRussa and his—well, just being himself. Yet with all that being said, the Cardinals still find themselves within reach of another National League Central title.
There have been many reasons to cheer and applaud and many scenarios leaving Cardinal fans scratching their heads in 2010, giving St. Louis baseball a lulled excitement as September baseball comes to a close.
But just as the big bats seem to come alive as a game reaches the ninth, many times coming up just shy of a win, the season has put the team in a dramatic position to come alive in the eleventh hour.
The roster includes players who just need one name to describe who they are— Pujols, Holliday, Molina, Wainwright, Carpenter and now, Garcia. It is a roster that includes 2010 candidates for the league’s MVP, Gold Glove, Cy Young, and Rookie of the Year Awards and a future Hall of Fame manager.
When the ballplayers that St. Louis has are mixed together, magical things can happen. The excitement can be shared throughout the city and the sea of Cardinal red will erupt.
Joe Ray
– Multimedia Editor –
Rams bring football back to St. Louis
Once again, this town has football fever, and it’s not because of the University of Missouri Tigers. The Edward Jones Dome was breaking sound barriers with the excitement from the fans of St. Louis. Coming off a season in which the Rams went 1-15, Sam Bradford made the Rams look like a contender again.
Even though it was just one game into the 2010 season, Bradford played like he had been in this league for several years.
He gave St. Louis hope again when he threw a touchdown to end the first half. The defense was stellar, and the special teams were great, and once the Rams get a big game receiver into this town, who knows what they are capable of.
Slowly, St. Louis is becoming a football town. The tailgating looked light but that is soon going to change. There is such a buzz about Bradford that the fans will swarm in. Once the wins start piling on top of each other, this town will become football heaven. Everyone will come to their feet cheering for the St. Louis Rams.
