The Astro Turf is Always Greener

One of the definitions of the word Loyal is "faithful to a cause, ideal, custom, institution, or product". Another definition is "unswerving in allegiance". Here's the thing - when we set up this blog Chris set the links over there on your right hand side. Do you see what links he put in? That's right, there's a link to the St. Louis Cardinals. Do you see a link to the Houston Astros? No. You don't. It's not there because he did not put that team there.

I was born in St. Louis. I grew up in St. Louis. I grew up watching and attending Cardinal games. Before we got married I let Chris know there are a few things my family holds sacred - politics, religion, the Marine Corps, and the Cardinals. Everything else is fair game. He had no problem with that when we met nor when we married. He's been attending Cardinals games and cheering for them every year with my family since then. He buys a Cardinals hat every time he wears one out and those are his favorite hats.

Then there's his son - Wilson has literally been wearing Cardinals apparel since he was a week old. He was a newborn and we watched Spring Training during my entire maternity leave. I listened to his colicky cries during the 2002 home opener. He has a room decorated in Cardinals memorabilia, courtesy of the family in St. Louis - including an autographed baseball by Stan Musial. He learned what a Cardinal was as soon as he learned to talk. One of his few sentences starting out was "Go Cardinals!". He's only ever been to see the Cardinals play at Busch Stadium. He watches every televised game and cheers for them.

Here's where I get confused: Chris never mentioned the Astros until last October when it was down to Houston and St. Louis. All of a sudden, he's an Astros fan. Fine, I understand he grew up "near Houston" and attended a handful of games when he was younger. Fine. But he never, ever mentioned the Astros before that and I can tell you last year he couldn't name you 5 players on the team or even who the coach was. I had to tell him it wasn't Enron Field anymore. Big Astros fan, huh? Then the Astros started losing and what do you know, he's cheering for the Cards again. I thought he'd learned his lesson.

This year it's the same story. Only this time he has taken our son who has only ever cheered for the Cardinals and turned him against me. Chris played the Texas card. Apparently if you're a Texan you're going to cheer for the Astros, even if you've spent the last 6 years (or in Will's case - your entire life) cheering for the other team, attending the other team's games, watching the other team on TV, wearing clothing with the other team's logo on it... What's worse is the two boys can give you the batting order of the Cardinals - I had to tell them what the "Killer B's" meant. Then Chris comes up with some jive story about being able to have more than one team to cheer for! Way to teach your kid how to be a fence-sitter. Not in my house.

Chris said "It's just baseball". No it's not. It's not just baseball. It's about the one thing your wife still has here in Texas, her favorite sports team, her connection to her family. It would be like me burying him outside of Texas, and I'm tempted now to bury him in Oklahoma after this stunt he has pulled. They seem to think that when "their Astros" win this series with the Cardinals that I'm going to cheer along with them. Chris, as he has said at least 500 times a game, "grew up near Houston." Well, I grew up "near" Chicago. I'm going to be the best White Sox fan ever - I know just as much about the White Sox as these two Texans know about the Astros.

I've explained to Chris that you don't go against the family where the Cardinals are concerned - during the 1985 World Series there was a rift between the St. Louis side of my family and the Kansas City side of the family due to a terrible call made by the umpire. Chris said "I didn't know you have family in Kansas City." That's the point.