I will admit that I’m still feeling a little euphoric after the St. Louis Cardinals Opening Day come from behind victory, but as I continue to dwell on what just happened, I believe it was more than just a great game. Yesterday proved that when they fill the stands, St. Louis Cardinals fans can bring the team an advantage that few MLB fanbases can compete with.
For the record, I’ve never applied the “best fans in baseball” moniker to the St. Louis Cardinals fanbase. That’s a subjective thing that feels like a marketing term and not a label we need to walk around bragging about, but Thursday’s Opening Day proved that when truly engaged, there are few atmospheres that can rival Busch Stadium. Oli Marmol said in his post-game press conference that the charged atmosphere of the crowd truly impacted how the team rose to the occasion. He was asked if the atmosphere felt different. Oli said “Yeah, it was packed. Yes, it felt different. That’s what you feed off of. I really do believe this group, regardless of situation, they’re going to play in a way where it’s exciting to watch them every inning and they’re not going to give in to a whole lot. I’m glad we were able to show that today.”
Earlier this week, I mentioned that the 2026 season was going to reveal a lot about who the real St. Louis Cardinals fans are. I was pleasantly surprised how packed the stands were. If you compare Opening Day this year compared to last, the energy in the seats this year was exponentially better than the start of last season. The ovation for President of Baseball Operations Chaim Bloom during the introductions was interesting. Do you think Cardinals Nation understands this isn’t the same old team and that big changes had to happen? Absolutely. Even when the Cardinals went down 6 runs in the top of the 6th inning, I didn’t see anyone start heading for the exits to get a jump on the drive home. Alec Burleson said after the game that the crowd’s energy was as much a part of that victory as what the team did on the field. He said “whenever we can get the crowd into it, that’s what we want to do. Kudos to the fans for showing up. Obviously it’s Opening Day, but we want to encourage them…we’re gonna continue to play this way whether we win or lose”.
I want to avoid overreacting to one game because that’s really all this is in the win-loss column, but I do think Opening Day might be a turning point when it comes to the state of the St. Louis Cardinals fans mindset. I haven’t seen Busch Stadium as charged as it was yesterday since at least the first playoff game against the Phillies in early October 2022. Over the next few weeks, we’ll learn if this was a one-off adrenaline rush or if the St. Louis Cardinals faithful will continue to fill the seats and help energize this team. Thursday was a reminder that Busch Stadium can still be a very special place to play. It’s part of what made Nolan Arenado and Paul Goldschmidt want to come play here and it could play a big role in inspiring future free agents to give St. Louis consideration. St. Louis Cardinals fans can truly be an X factor and it feels to me that they’ll keep showing up beyond Opening Day. Or, at least I hope so.
