Cards v. Rays at Busch Stadium

Written by Chad -

For Christmas last year, we got my brother, Kyle, and his wife, Kelly, tickets to a St. Louis Cardinals baseball game at Busch Stadium. They could pick any date they wanted. The only catch was that they had to let us go with them. We ended up settling on July 22nd, when the Tampa Bay Rays would be in town to face off against the Cardinals. 

All four of us arrived several hours before the game to soak in the newly built Cardinal Nation facilities. Now, this place is awesome! It's right across the street from Busch Stadium where you can have a tall Budweiser while watching the Cards game on a massive TV. The food was great along with the experience.

Attached to the restaurants and massive bar was the St. Louis Cardinals Hall of Fame and Museum. It was a delight to go through the entire history of the Cardinals with Kyle and Kelly. Seeing countless jerseys, equipment, memorabilia, World Series Trophies and so many other awards was simply breathtaking. The highlight of the experience happened when I had the opportunity to hold Ozzie Smith's bat (my favorite Cardinal of all-time). On a side note, Amber and I geeked out over the Logo Timeline where they showcased the evolution of their logo since 1892. We can't help it, we are design nerds at heart.

After our history lesson, all four of us entered the stadium to watch batting practice and take in Baseball Heaven. The stadium quickly filled with enthusiastic fans awaiting a fun-filled night of baseball. The Cardinals started off strong with a home run for the first at bat, but the Rays gradually settled in and took over the night. Even though my Cards didn't win the game, the event itself won my heart. We had the best time hanging out with Kyle and Kelly, along with being in the best stadium in the world. ...Okay, I'm a little biased. :) 

Check out some of the highlights of the night below. To see the all of the photos from our trip, check out our gallery here.