The crowd goes wild—all 46,000 plus. Many have paid at least a day’s wage for their seat. But few are sitting. Most are standing, clapping and shouting. Waving flags. All are wearing and/ or carrying signs.
Have we found the ultimate Statesman who can thrill a crowd to this kind of frenzy? Is it a mesmerizing religious leader who has drawn followers to leave their comfortable homes and gather together for a sacred event? Is it the Second Coming?
Well, yes and no. The venue: Busch Stadium. The crowd: St. Louis Cardinal fans. The event: the fifth game of the National League Championship Series.
At the last Out of the game (the Series now will go on to Milwaukee for the best four out of seven) the noise becomes deafening. I am afraid I have suffered permanent hearing loss. And my vocal chords have sustained at least a temporary strain. Because yes, I too have been screaming.
A crowd this size, no doubt, more politically and religiously diverse than any group gathered in our theaters, conventions centers or churches. The stadium is filled with young and old, black and white, Hispanic and Asian. Old and young. Families with babies and small children in tow. Singles in groups or alone. Older couples, some with walkers and canes. I sit next to a blind woman with a cane, on the Metro link light rail train after the game. A particularly speedy way to and from the game. The woman is bedecked in Cardinal finery
Granted St. Louis
If we could harness this type of energy for the greater good of the nation, the human race, the planet there is nothing we couldn’t do.
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