FanNation - The Republic of Sport

Cardinal Nation Globe is all about connecting fans across the world. Often times fans develop an allegiance to a team according to the places where they grew up and resided. For instance, a Pittsburgh Pirates fan is most likely from the Pittsburgh area, grew up in the Pittsburgh area, or lived in the Pittsburgh area during a pivotal time in the development of his or her fan allegiance. Since Americans are more mobile than ever before, many of us no longer reside in the areas in which we grew up. That means many fans are currently living in another team's home region and must maintain a connection to their home team through means other than local newspaper, television, radio, etc. St. Louis Cardinals fans are no exception. St. Louis Cardinals fans are everywhere. We wear our Cardinal red caps where ever we are and by doing this we declare that we are a member of Cardinal Nation.

The geography of Cardinal Nation is many ways a product of the franchise history. Until 1955, when the Athletics moved to Kansas City, St. Louis was the westernmost city in the U.S. to host a major league baseball team. Until 1958, when the Dodgers moved to Los Angeles, St. Louis was the southernmost U.S. city with a MLB team. This geographic positioning relative to other MLB teams gave the St. Louis Cardinals are large area of the U.S. to cultivate fans and grow Cardinal Nation. KMOX, the Cardinals' long-time flagship radio station, played a large role in this. The 50,000-watt signal of KMOX broadcast Cardinal games across the U.S. and even into areas where there was no local Cardinals affiliate station.

Cardinal baseball is no longer broadcast on KMOX and many fans who live outside the signal range of an affiliate station must now follow games by other means. Many fans, such as myself, have subscribed to XM radio. This technology is a godsend in my opinion. The crisp sound and portability make following St. Louis Cardinals baseball easy no matter where I am. One problem is I do not get to listen to the Cards announcers when the team is on the road (XM only gives home team broadcasts). Another aspect than many fans are uneasy with is cost - it costs money (about $12 a month) to receive XM broadcasts while traditional radio is free.

There are other means that a fan can use to follow his or her team that are only possible through the Internet. Internet radio or streaming live video on MLB.com, on-line newspapers and news sites, fan message boards and chat forums, and blogs. Many fans may watch Sportscenter or Baseball Tonight nightly on ESPN to catch the Cardinal highlights and scores.

Regardless of where we are and what methods we use to follow our team, being a fan is a way of connecting to place, region, and in some cases the area that we call home. Since the Cardinals play their home games at Busch Stadium in St. Louis, MO, we are automatically linked to that place when we become a fan of that team. We are also connecting to place when we read the Post-Dispatch online, listen to a radio broadcast, or interact with other Cardinals fans through message boards, forums, and blogs. We are Cardinal Nation - a fan community that is based on a our allegiance and following of a baseball team that calls St. Louis, MO home. That makes Busch Stadium our Cardinal Nation home.

Reproduced with the permission of Cardinal Nation Globe