That's a winner!

For those of you who don't recognize Jack Buck's trademark call, the Cardinals won the World SeriesD! Thanks to Mel and Thailand Jeff for their (sort of) congratulations. It was sweet. Though I didn't pitch, hit, or field a single ball in the 2006 season, I have to admit to uttering the phrase "WE won" after it was all said and done. Hey, I've been suffering (okay, not relative to Cubs fans, but they set a high bar for suffering) almost 25 years since the last title. I barely even remember that one and after 1985 and 1987 slipped through our fingers, it seemed a title might never come. Now it has.

Not much time today, but I did want to point you toward this story on the .victory celebration thrown by St. Louis. I know it's a cliche, but Cards fans are true baseball fans.

It sounded like one long stadium curtain call. It looked like a horizonless sea of Cardinal red, as if every available Redbird shirt and hat had been pressed into service.

Attendance was estimated at 500,000. This from a city with a population of just under a million people (if you count the suburbs). That's pretty impressive.

So were all 500,000 of these folks aged Peter Pan's who just refuse to grow up? No.

"The Cardinals are a way of life," said Teri Mack, a grandmother from St. Charles, as she stood with her family along the parade route. "This is what it is all about."
...
Fans were mindful that 24 years had passed since the last Cardinals' World Series title. An entire generation of fans had gone without knowing what it was like to win it all. So now fans of all ages wanted to savor it with a celebration.

"I may never live to see another one," said Donna Fencl, 64, of Fairview Heights.

"And it's my first World Series (championship) experience," said her 17-year-old granddaughter, Shannon Lillis, who prides herself on being able to name the Cardinals' entire 40-man roster.

See, that's what 17-year-olds should be doing: memorizing the 40-man roster of their favorite baseball teams.

Okay, okay, I'll stop "Card blogging" now. I promise I'll be back to more general rants soon. I just had to get in one last Ode to the Cards! Next year we repeat!!!