There has been much discussion about the upcoming 2026 season being one that will reveal much about who the St. Louis Cardinals will be as this rebuild process continues. I also believe that we’re about to learn a lot about the fanbase of our beloved team. Who are the real St. Louis Cardinals fans and will they show up?
It’s an amazing fact that many of the younger St. Louis Cardinals fans have not been alive long enough to remember when the team was not competitive. That’s a tribute to the DeWitt family that the St. Louis Cardinals have been perennial contender for the National League Central for more than two decades. If you just look at the St. Louis Cardinals since Albert Pujols rookie season of 2001, the team has been to the playoffs 15 times. That era includes 4 World Series appearances and 2 championships. If you’re 25 or younger, you’re not accustomed to seeing the St. Louis Cardinals lose much. That’s likely why attendance has been on a rather sharp decline since 2022:
2022: 3.3 million+ total
2023: 3,241,091 total
2024: 2,878,115 total
2025: 2,250,007 total
I’m going to make a bold prediction that the decline in attendance will end with the 2026 season. I am not saying that the St. Louis Cardinals will suddenly return to the 3 million+ home game numbers from a few years ago, but I believe that the real St. Louis Cardinals fans now understand that the settling for mediocre “we just hope we can stumble our way into the playoffs and hope for a miracle” mentality is gone. Yes, a winning record might not be in the cards for 2026, but the trajectory toward constant winning has resumed I think. I don’t agree with everything that new President of Baseball Operations Chaim Bloom has done, but I am convinced that he’s chosen a path that will lead the Cardinals back to greatness sooner rather than later. Yes, that sooner will likely not be the 2026 season barring a real miracle, but I think contending for NL Central titles at least will be within reach in the next 2 or 3 seasons.
Who are the real St. Louis Cardinals fans?
I’m not saying that if you disagree with the current rebuild or whatever you want to call it, you’re not a real fan. Not at all. Many of the complaints about the St. Louis Cardinals front office now are not that different from gripes that many of us had with Gussie Busch before the DeWitt family bought the team in 1996. But, I remember the eras when the St. Louis Cardinals were not expected to be playing in October yet we still went to games and supported the team. We kept showing up. The games I went to as a kid in the early 1970’s were not to see a playoff-caliber team. Other than 1971 and 1979, most seasons during that decade the St. Louis Cardinals were fortunate to have anything above a .500 record. Same can be said of the early 1990’s. Until Tony La Russa took over the team in 1996, we went to St. Louis Cardinals games for the atmosphere and because cheering on this team was what we did. Winning was just a bonus back then.
I also want to be specific that I’m not talking about game attendance as a measuring stick for St. Louis Cardinals allegiance. I haven’t been able to go to a game since Nolan Arenado Bobblehead Day in 2022 because my family lives 2 hours away and frankly can’t afford it. This is more about following the team. I cannot remember a game that I either didn’t watch or immediately check in on the score of. That almost never happens. I was born a St. Louis Cardinals fan and I’ll leave this life the same way someday. Do I get frustrated with what I view as bad managerial or roster decisions? Abso-freaking-lutely. Will I ever not care about the St. Louis Cardinals? That’s never going to happen.
I think most of the bandwagon jumpers are gone now. Those who said they were fans of the team only because they were winning will gladly show up at the park once the new St. Louis Cardinals return to their winning ways, but the real fans will show up this year because they know something is different. Will players like JJ Wetherholt, Masyn Winn and Alec Burleson be the core of the next great Cardinals teams? We also can’t wait to see what Joshua Baez will do to major league pitching once he completes his development in the minors. Look at the stands at Busch Stadium this year and you’ll see the real Cardinals nation. Real Cardinals fans don’t always agree with the manager, ownership or what the team is doing, but we never leave either. I’ll be watching every single game I can in 2026 no matter what the record is. Will you?
