Cardinals and their fan base

[ABC]

I am a Cardinal fan and always have been. I am also a Royals fan. I see no conflict. I didn't grow up in KC, so screw the KC folks who can't grasp this.

Anyway, my son just ask me why the Cardinals have such a large fan base.

Up until 55 years ago, the Cardinals were the furthwest West and South team in the major leagues.

I think the residual fan base is still there. My grandma, living in Western Kansas, loved the Cardinals and hated the Yankees.

The fact that STL has had relatively sustained success adds to and keeps the fan base. That's why there are lots of Cardinal fans at every single away game.

I would be interested in your thoughts.

Since the Rockies started eating into the Royals radio network, I believe the Cardinals might have the largest network, stretching from Oklahoma to Kentucky and Indiana and up to Iowa. Independence, Kansas used to have a Cardinals affilaite but not sure they still do.

[ShoxFan963]

Cardinals fan here as well. I follow the Royals to some extent, but I'm not a big fan of AL style ball or losing :friendly_wink:

I think your theory definitely holds merit. The sustained success and competitive play of the franchise has never really dropped off and is no doubt a big factor as to why there is such a big redbird fan base across the country. Not to mention the fact that the fan base is one of the most knowledgeable and respectable ones around the entire league.

I feel like the World Series couldn't have turned out any better than how it has. It has had some nice, low-scoring games (excluding game 3) making for some great pitching duels and consequential strategy moves between managers.

[ShockTalk]

As a young kid, I grew up in central Missouri and started collecting ball cards at 7. The Cards were my team and Musial was "the Man". Most all my relatives and friends only talked about the Cardinals. They had been around forever, pre-1900 anyway. KC didn't get the A's until 1955, I believe, and that "AAA farm team for the Yanks" was only around for about 12 years (they immediately started winning when they moved to Oakland). I don't believe they ever had a winning season in KC, most the time they were awful, and played in a hole of a stadium. Given the Cards success and location, it was no wonder they had a large regional following. I don't believe they have a radio station in Kansas anymore, but they do in 9 other states. I think they have almost 50 stations outside of Missouri and Illinois. Yes, the Cubbies and White Sox don't have a lock on Illinois and the Cards have stations throughout the whole state.

[ABC]

Good point regarding the KC A's.

A KC area team didn't really start developing a fan base until after the Royals first couple of seasons.

[BenWSU]

My grandparents listened to KMOX in the 40s 50s and 60s. The signal was good at night.

Nothing wrong with being fan of many teams in one sport. I followed every Cardinals game online listening to KREF out of OKC back in 2006. Mike Shannon and John Rooney do a good job on radio.