Apr. 29th, 2009 12:52 pm
Ethnic diversity in the Cardinals Nation
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muckefuckYesterday a co-worker took note of my scarf and said, "So you must be a Cards fan?" She then confided that she "hates the Cubs". I replied in my standard way, "I don't hate them at all. It's not like they've ever been a spoiler for us." And then I asked myself: Is that true? After all, I haven't always been following the playoffs like I do now, so maybe it happened before and I missed it. Nope. In the course of my lifetime, we've been knocked out by Arizona in the NDLS and lost the Pennant once each to the Astros, Braves, Mets, and Giants. This is why when people ask me who our rivals are, it's the Mets and the Braves who immediately spring to mind (beyond, of course, the obvious facts that the Mets are pond scum and the Braves an embarrassment to humanity).
But she may have provided some insight into Chicagoans' claims of a "rivalry" between our teams. Just as I forget that the homely mass of dying industrial areas and deadening suburbs across the river from the Arch considers itself part of "St Louis", I forget that downstate Illinois is Cards country. Given the resentment of downstaters for Chicago and the contempt of Chicagoans for anyone from west of Austin, much less south of I-80, it's not surprising that this should carry into the sports arena. It also explains how I, living up in a world where Illinoisans were queer interlopers, grew up blissfully ignorant of it all.
Incidentally, said co-worker's primary allegiances are to my second-favourite NL team, the Brewers, and she's as much a fan of Miller Park as I am. Tragically, loyalties of love pull her into supporting the White Sox as well. (See how easy you have it,![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
monshu?) Her harrowing stories of contact with the drunken yobbos who fill Wrigley on a regular basis reminded of how much sweetener my commute is going to be this summer. No matter how irritated I may get by rude clueless students with their inane chatter and free-swinging Olympic-sized bookbags, it beats rubbing shoulders with bleacher bums any day.
But she may have provided some insight into Chicagoans' claims of a "rivalry" between our teams. Just as I forget that the homely mass of dying industrial areas and deadening suburbs across the river from the Arch considers itself part of "St Louis", I forget that downstate Illinois is Cards country. Given the resentment of downstaters for Chicago and the contempt of Chicagoans for anyone from west of Austin, much less south of I-80, it's not surprising that this should carry into the sports arena. It also explains how I, living up in a world where Illinoisans were queer interlopers, grew up blissfully ignorant of it all.
Incidentally, said co-worker's primary allegiances are to my second-favourite NL team, the Brewers, and she's as much a fan of Miller Park as I am. Tragically, loyalties of love pull her into supporting the White Sox as well. (See how easy you have it,
monshu?) Her harrowing stories of contact with the drunken yobbos who fill Wrigley on a regular basis reminded of how much sweetener my commute is going to be this summer. No matter how irritated I may get by rude clueless students with their inane chatter and free-swinging Olympic-sized bookbags, it beats rubbing shoulders with bleacher bums any day.Tags: