There seem to be a lot of STL Cards fans on here...why?

[mstateglfr]

Well, maybe not a lot, but certainly more than I would have guessed, just based on general geography of where most here probably grew up.

In college some friends from Memphis were huge Cubs fans and they said they got into the Cubs because WGN was shown in Memphis. Cool.
And a handful of guys were Braves fans for the same reason, even though they lived nowhere near ATL...TBS broadcast games got the Braves into their homes.

Was there something similar with the Cardinals that I never noticed? Or is it just that there is only 1 MLB team in the Southeast, excluding Florida, and the Cardinals are close enough to MS/AR/TN/WKY/NWAL to make them the 'local' team?

 

[Maroon Eagle]

Was there something similar with the Cardinals that I never noticed? Or is it just that there is only 1 MLB team in the Southeast, excluding Florida, and the Cardinals are close enough to MS/AR/TN/WKY/NWAL to make them the 'local' team?

That's it right here.

Some of the older folks might still think of the Braves as those yankees...

 

[OG Goat Holder]

Neat thread.

The answer is nothing a map couldn't tell you.

 

[Faustdog]

Well, maybe not a lot, but certainly more than I would have guessed, just based on general geography of where most here probably grew up.

In college some friends from Memphis were huge Cubs fans and they said they got into the Cubs because WGN was shown in Memphis. Cool.
And a handful of guys were Braves fans for the same reason, even though they lived nowhere near ATL...TBS broadcast games got the Braves into their homes.

Was there something similar with the Cardinals that I never noticed? Or is it just that there is only 1 MLB team in the Southeast, excluding Florida, and the Cardinals are close enough to MS/AR/TN/WKY/NWAL to make them the 'local' team?

I think there are three reasons.

1. It was for a long time the most "southern" team.

2. Back in the day there was a powerful radio station that blasted their games all over the south. Many of our parents became fans that way.

3. The Memphis Redbirds.

 

[jethreauxdawg]

Memphis/north Mississippi was a cardinals radio market before TVs existed or games were common on them. My dad still talks about listening to games on the radio as he fell asleep as a kid.
And people are cubs fans because they drink bud light.

 

[NukeDogg]

All of my dad's family grew up in Memphis and are Cardinals fans because that's who they got on the radio back in the 70's and 80's. Country folks, they'd sit on the porch and listen to the ball game after supper.

Same reason I grew up a Braves fan because of TBS in the 90's.

 

[CochiseCowbell]

And people are cubs fans because they drink bud light.

Don't the Cards play in Busch Stadium?

 

[dorndawg]

Don't the Cards play in Busch Stadium?

Don't confuse them further.

 

[Mobile Bay]

Memphis/north Mississippi was a cardinals radio market before TVs existed or games were common on them. My dad still talks about listening to games on the radio as he fell asleep as a kid.
And people are cubs fans because they drink bud light.

Bud Light, the stuff made by Anhesieur Busch of St. Louis Missouri?

 

[YesIAmAPirate]

We just enjoy cheering for teams that let us down year after year

 

[thatsbaseball]

The history of Cardinal fans in the south literally goes back to pre TV days.

 

[BonzoGoesToCollege]

The history of Cardinal fans in the south literally goes back to pre TV days.

This. When I was a little kid, I would pull out my transistor radio after I was put to bed and all I could get was the Cardinal broadcasts on WELO out of Tupelo.

 

[ChatGPT]

KMOX

 

[IBleedMaroonDawg]

I think there are three reasons.

1. It was for a long time the most "southern" team.

2. Back in the day there was a powerful radio station that blasted their games all over the south. Many of our parents became fans that way.

3. The Memphis Redbirds.

#2 is the answer.

 

[mstateglfr]

Neat thread.

The answer is nothing a map couldn't tell you.

Chill. I wasnt sure if it was something other than geography.
DFW is closer than STL to Jackson MS, for example. But I dont see Ranger talk very often...ever? So it may have not been simply location based.

Many have cited radio as a reason. Thats interesting and hits to the WGN or TBS coverage mentioned earlier. Its interesting.

 

[jethreauxdawg]

Don't the Cards play in Busch Stadium?

Completely different item. No similarities at all. Completely targeting a different consumer.

 

[Tall Dawg]

Huge Cardinals fan here (50+ yrs running) and they are playing awful now as everyone knows. May be having clubhouse issues.

 

[Duke Humphrey]

Chill. I wasnt sure if it was something other than geography.
DFW is closer than STL to Jackson MS, for example. But I dont see Ranger talk very often...ever? So it may have not been simply location based.

Many have cited radio as a reason. Thats interesting and hits to the WGN or TBS coverage mentioned earlier. Its interesting.

Rangers didnt come into existence until 1972 and Braves didnt move to Atlanta until 1966.

Being a Cards fan is generational as grandparents, parents, etc grew up listening on radio, and also, the Cards were pretty good year in and year out to draw and keep a following

You see Mets/Astros fans in Jackson area due to the Generals affiliation in the 80s/90s, and of course Braves fans all over due to TBS and their winning run in the 90s/2000s/current

 

[preacher_dawg]

Is it weird that I consider myself a Braves and Cards fan?

 

[chuckster.sixpack]

Well, maybe not a lot, but certainly more than I would have guessed, just based on general geography of where most here probably grew up.

In college some friends from Memphis were huge Cubs fans and they said they got into the Cubs because WGN was shown in Memphis. Cool.
And a handful of guys were Braves fans for the same reason, even though they lived nowhere near ATL...TBS broadcast games got the Braves into their homes.

Was there something similar with the Cardinals that I never noticed? Or is it just that there is only 1 MLB team in the Southeast, excluding Florida, and the Cardinals are close enough to MS/AR/TN/WKY/NWAL to make them the 'local' team?

Why not?

 

[ronpolk]

Rangers didnt come into existence until 1972 and Braves didnt move to Atlanta until 1966.

Being a Cards fan is generational as grandparents, parents, etc grew up listening on radio, and also, the Cards were pretty good year in and year out to draw and keep a following

You see Mets/Astros fans in Jackson area due to the Generals affiliation in the 80s/90s, and of course Braves fans all over due to TBS and their winning run in the 90s/2000s/current

It was generational for me. My dad didn’t really watch baseball too much but my grandparents and several uncles did and they were all cardinal fans. I grew up in Florida and the Rays didn’t come along until I was 12. I was a little younger when the marlins came about. I tried to be a marlins fan for a while but it never stuck.

 

[Bulldog Bruce]

Well, maybe not a lot, but certainly more than I would have guessed, just based on general geography of where most here probably grew up.

In college some friends from Memphis were huge Cubs fans and they said they got into the Cubs because WGN was shown in Memphis. Cool.
And a handful of guys were Braves fans for the same reason, even though they lived nowhere near ATL...TBS broadcast games got the Braves into their homes.

Was there something similar with the Cardinals that I never noticed? Or is it just that there is only 1 MLB team in the Southeast, excluding Florida, and the Cardinals are close enough to MS/AR/TN/WKY/NWAL to make them the 'local' team?

KMOX

 

[mstateglfr]

Why not?

Why not what? I asked if something similar to WGN/TBS was what pulled people in. I asked if its just geographic location that pulled people in.
Not sure what your question pertains to.

 

[DawgInThe256]

Not only were the Cardinals the southernmost team in baseball, they were the westernmost team. And as others have mentioned, KMOX is widely available after dark.

As for me, I married into a Cardinals family.

 

[DesotoCountyDawg]

It’s generational for most like many have said already with KMOX. My grandfather listened to the games on there for years and his favorite player ever was Bob Gibson. Most of my friends were Cardinal fans and we had the Memphis Redbirds later on when I got older so it was just easy to latch on with the Cardinals.

 

[Dawgg]

I grew up in North Mississippi and the Cardinals were my father’s and grandfather’s favorite team. Their games were broadcast on Memphis radio and on TV channel 30. I’m a Dodgers fan because of the 1988 World Series, but I’ve always considered the Cards my second team.

The Cardinals also have 60+ years of being the “local” team before the Braves ever migrated south. For a lot of people on the board, their parents lived in the south before the Braves did.

Also, the Atlanta Braves were almost always a joke of a team until the 90’s. Outside of a few seasons, they generally finished last in the NL West. The Cardinals were at least a contender.

 

[GloryDawg]

I could never get into MLB no matter how hard I tried. I love college baseball but only because of my connection to Miss State. I guess if Miss had a MLB team going to games growing up I might have. I got into NFL because I always viewed the Saints as a local team and pulled for them.

 

[Dawgg]

I could never get into MLB no matter how hard I tried. I love college baseball but only because of my connection to Miss State. I guess if Miss had a MLB team going to games growing up I might have. I got into NFL because I always viewed the Saints as a local team and pulled for them.

I get that. I didn't really pay attention to the NHL until Nashville got a team and I kind of only pay attention when they're doing well.

Same with the NBA and Memphis. The Bulls were my team until Jordan retired, then I lost interest until Memphis got a team. For the NFL, most of my family was Saints and Cowboys fans. Once the Oilers moved to Tennessee, they became 'my' team. I fell in love with baseball (and the Dodgers) during the 1988 World Series (I was 8). Otherwise, who knows?

 

[Dawgg]

You see Mets/Astros fans in Jackson area due to the Generals affiliation in the 80s/90s,

Local minor league affiliations created a lot of fans in my friends and family circles as a kid. I had a lot of family that lived in the North Alabama area that rooted for the Oakland A's because of the Huntsville Stars (McGwire and Canseco both spent time there) and there were kids in my school and on my baseball teams that rooted for the Kansas City Royals because of the Memphis Chicks (Bo Jackson spent time there). The Major League teams would also come and play exhibition games against their minor league counterparts. I don't know if that still happens or not.

 

[1reddog]

I think there are three reasons.

1. It was for a long time the most "southern" team.

2. Back in the day there was a powerful radio station that blasted their games all over the south. Many of our parents became fans that way.

3. The Memphis Redbirds.

#2 for me

 

[karlchilders.sixpack]

It's not bad ride up I55 from North Ms, and back in the day, they won often.

 

[OG Goat Holder]

I could never get into MLB no matter how hard I tried. I love college baseball but only because of my connection to Miss State. I guess if Miss had a MLB team going to games growing up I might have. I got into NFL because I always viewed the Saints as a local team and pulled for them.

I’m the same. But the Braves reeled in a lot of Mississippians in the 90s, and I was one of them. But that fandom is not nearly as strong as State. Same with the Saints. I’d like to root for the Grizz eventually if I ever go to a game and get into it. ButI don’t truly care about any pro sports outside just sheer entertainment.

 

[60sdog]

I think there are three reasons.

1. It was for a long time the most "southern" team.

2. Back in the day there was a powerful radio station that blasted their games all over the south. Many of our parents became fans that way.

3. The Memphis Redbirds.

The first two reasons are right on. I grew up listening to the Redbirds every night. Then the braves moved from Milwaukee to Hotlanta, and it has changed incrementally since then ( beginning in the mid 60’s).

 

[eckie1]

And people are cubs fans because they drink bud light Old Style.

FIFY…. People that drink Bud Light are trannies, and may or may not be Cubs fans.****

 

[The Cooterpoot]

Lots of gays on the board? Not that there's anything wrong with that

 

[AstroDog]

Mississippi is predominately a Cardinals territory. Braves probably a distant second. I'm a life long Cincy Reds fan. Grew up in Middle TN and my grandmother lived in Columbus, OH. When we went to visit her, Dad would always stop by old Crosby Field and take us to the game. I was consumed by it as a small kid. Pete Rose, Tommy Helms, Lee May, Alex Johnson, and the following year, all the talk was of the anticipated big time catcher who was coming home from his tour in Vietnam. His name was Johnny Bench....some of you have probably heard of him. Then the Big Red Machine years took off. Here I am still waiting for those glory years to return!

 

[DesotoCountyDawg]

One of my uncles grew up in Florida and was a Cardinals fan because he and his dad could listen to the games on KMOX at night. Really crazy how far their signal goes and how much that played into their fanbase.

 

[Mobile Bay]

FIFY…. People that drink Bud Light are trannies, and may or may not be Cubs fans.****

Um you do know that Bud Light is made in St Louis. Not that there is anything wrong with that.

 

[DesotoCountyDawg]

I bet the free sample tap in the Anheuser Busch plant tour is rather lonely these days.

 

[dogmatic001]

Well, maybe not a lot, but certainly more than I would have guessed, just based on general geography of where most here probably grew up.

In college some friends from Memphis were huge Cubs fans and they said they got into the Cubs because WGN was shown in Memphis. Cool.
And a handful of guys were Braves fans for the same reason, even though they lived nowhere near ATL...TBS broadcast games got the Braves into their homes.

Was there something similar with the Cardinals that I never noticed? Or is it just that there is only 1 MLB team in the Southeast, excluding Florida, and the Cardinals are close enough to MS/AR/TN/WKY/NWAL to make them the 'local' team?

Generational thing. I grew up in my grandmother's house and she'd become a Cardinals fan back when Harry Caray was still broadcasting their games, before he moved to Chicago and became a Cubs legend.

Also, I suppose we're all subject to the bandwagon to some extent. I was born an MState fan - surely that's enough losing for anyone. If I'm going to go out and just pick a pro team to follow, it's not going to be one that usually loses, which is what the Braves and Cubs did throughout the majority of my youth.