Make no mistake about it, I am a Cardinals fan. 

I was born and raised in St. Louis and have called it home for all of my 27 years. 

When the St. Louis Cardinals are playing, my life usually gets put on hold for a couple of hours, and if they’re in the playoffs, I transform from mild mannered average Joe into complete raving lunatic incapable of any level of human interaction.  I am proud to be a part of this large and loyal Cardinals fan base. 

All that being said, I am of the firm opinion that this “best fans in baseball” crap has got to stop. 

It seems like it happened overnight; some members of the national media took notice of the knowledge and passion of the fans at Busch Stadium and the city was labeled, “the best baseball town in America.” 

Since that time, the intense desire for the city to hang onto this fictional title has become overwhelming.  
The fans who used to sport “the Mets are Pond Scum” t-shirts, considered Don Denkinger to be on the same level as Lucipher and who honestly wanted to cause physical harm to Jeffrey Leonard in the ’87 NLCS, was now to be known for their cordial and respective nature. 

Of course, this change to the ‘always civil’ attitude would be admirable if it weren’t so contrived. 

This past week, Edgar Renteria returned to Busch for a three game set with the Red Sox pouring gas onto what has already become a raging bonfire.  Edgar, a solid Cardinal for 6 years, caused a firestorm on local call-in shows, internet chat rooms and even the local newspapers.  Should we boo or shouldn’t we?  The city was like a Boy Scout obsessing over whether or not to take a drag off his friend’s cigarette.  

If we boo will we still be the best fans in baseball?  What will people think of us?  This isn’t Philly, we don’t boo people!

After days of back and forth commentary dedicated to this meaningless topic, the situation came to a head last Monday night when Edgar came to bat for the first time since leaving the Cardinals.  A collection of boos rang out initially, but were instantly drowned out by a standing ovation from the majority of the crowd. 

I happened to be in attendance that evening (I neither booed nor clapped, instead electing to pay attention to my jumbo hot dog; man, that sounded weird.) and the whole charade just reeked of self absorption.  It was as if Cardinals fans were arguing amongst themselves, with the battle between boos and applause having nothing to do with Renteria.  The standing O seemed more geared towards protecting the image fans have worked so hard to cultivate than as a show of appreciation for Edgar’s tenure with the team. 

Just a few days later, newly recalled outfielder Skip Schumaker stepped to the plate and received a standing O for his first career at-bat.  There’s certainly nothing wrong with people giving a pat on the back to a young man in congratulations for his recent promotion, but when Skip struck out on three pitches, the best fans in baseball felt the need to again strut their stuff, giving him an encore ovation as he headed to the dugout. 

I’m all for treating your player’s right, and while Schumaker didn’t deserve to be chastised for his misfortunes at the plate, he certainly didn’t warrant a second ovation from the crowd.  This isn’t the Special Olympics. 

Fans shouldn’t be urged to stand and applaud any player who doesn’t make a fool of themselves just because the sign in centerfield has anointed us number one in baseball.  These are millionaire professional athletes, they understand that fans pay money to watch them perform; they don’t need our constant Stuart Smalley routine to keep their heads in the game. 

The act of the standing ovation or the “curtain call” used to be reserved for the spectacular, now it is being flung around at any moment that the crowd sees an opportunity to strengthen its reputation. 

In Game 1 of the NLDS last year, Mike Matheny was given a curtain call for hitting a solo HR in the late innings of a blowout over the Dodgers.  His was one of about 5 on the day.  I was starting to think that if I had a particularly efficient turn in front of the urinal, the guys in the bathroom might give me my own standing O. 

The whole concept of being baseball’s best fans is becoming a parody of itself. 

Every night during TV broadcasts of the game we get commercials jumping on the “best fans” bandwagon, there are no less than three signs in and around Busch touting the same. 

It’s gotten to the point that some fans are so fiercely protective of the title that they clutch it like a souvenir foul ball.  Heaven forbid someone in the crowd yell something unflattering to the likes of JD Drew who spent years loafing through the motions in St. Louis.  We’re too classy for that. 

Other cities boast pretty good fans too.  As much as Cardinals fans would hate to admit it, Cubs fans have been supporting their team for ages despite no measurable success.  Red Sox and Yankees fans are pretty loyal as well; certainly no one can blame the people of the city for the obscene payrolls that the organizations employ.   I even know of Royals fans who stick with their team through valleys that Cardinals supporters have rarely seen.  And, for the most part, these fans cheer and they boo accordingly with no ulterior motives. 

The bottom line is that there are good baseball fans everywhere.  The title of “best in baseball” is impossible to award to one over another.  A group of drunken loudmouths can change the reputation of a city’s fans just as quickly as an intelligent round of applause aimed at a sacrifice bunt. 

While I’m certainly not calling for the fans of the Cardinals to become English soccer hooligans, I’m hopeful that we can go to the games and be free to react to the play naturally, rather than being forced to give consideration to a nonsensical label that we’ve latched onto. 

As far as I’m concerned, when attending a game, fans should live by only three simple rules 1.) cheer how you want to cheer 2.) be considerate of the others around you, especially if they include children and 3.) keep your shirt on (applies to males only). 

Other than those, all that one can do is enjoy their nachos and hope for a winner.

Joe Sportsfan is a column written weekly by Josh Bacott.  He hopes he never receives a standing O in the men's bathroom at Busch. E-mail him at josh@joesportsfan.com