Column: Cardinal madness hits Idaho

It has never been a better time to be a Cardinal. No doubt, I’ve been all about our school’s amazing athletic program this year, since I’ve witnessed our Lady Cards showcase an unstoppable drive to be the best.

Women’s soccer pushed the envelope to 12 wins before they received their first loss and the volleyball team has continued to level all opponents standing in their way. They are now at a 9-game winning streak.

But at the same time, the World Series this year has me longing for the return of a North Idaho College Cardinal baseball team.

The way that Albert Pujols puts up stats and ties records playing for the St. Louis Cardinals makes me wish we could still be churning out more MLB heavyweights like former student Jason Bay. Bay currently plays for the New York Mets and hit the second grand slam of the season on June 28.

In game three against the Texas Rangers, Pujols knocked three home runs out of the park after going 0-6 in hitting during the first two games. This ties the record of most homers in a World Series game set by Babe Ruth in 1926 and matched by Reggie Jackson in 1977.

Pujols definitely makes it easy for anyone who used to play at a school with a Cardinal mascot to find pride in their humble beginnings.

Ever since the introduction and conception of the Meyer Health and Science building, it seems that the whole program just fizzled out into oblivion. The building was built in the place of the old baseball diamond and a suitable field was never found or built.

I sit and wonder if any of those who axed the whole program ever had a chance to be “taken out to the ball game?” Did they ever get an opportunity to eat some peanuts and crackerjacks over the years at one of America’s favorite past times?

I’m sure our athletic director Al Williams has thought about bringing the sport back into the limelight. With Cardinal madness sweeping across the country, it’s hard to turn on a television without being bombarded with images of red birds sitting on bats.

Now if this tirade falls on deaf ears that might be a completely different story, but I hope this World Series is an omen for greater things to come. Naturally with my love for NIC’s mascot, I have my money on St. Louis to win this year. But even if they weren’t in the final match up for the Commissioner’s Trophy, I definitely wouldn’t be on the side of the Texas Rangers.

Everything might be bigger in Texas, but I feel many people who hail from the Lone Star State have an attitude sub-par to reality. Just take our lovely 43rd president George W. Bush as an example. Sure the image of one person shouldn’t ruin it for everyone, but add his father into the mix and it is hard to change that perception.

As this issue was getting printed at the press, game four was slowly unfolding in Arlington, Texas with St. Louis leading the series 2-1. If the Cardinals win this year, may that be a sign of what’s to come in the future for NIC athletics.

I know a win will brighten the moral for anyone who has sported the red feathers in day gone by.