Moms Talk: Redbird Fever in the Family

The Cardinals face the Texas Rangers Wednesday in the first World Series game and families everywhere are stocking up on red and making snacks for the game. 

How do you celebrate the Cardinals in your family? Does your whole family get together to watch the games? Listen on the radio? 

As always, with celebration comes caution. If you attend games, especially with the family, how do you handle the overpriced hot dogs, cotton candy, and other snacks? You want your kids to have fun, but how do you resist from breaking the bank?

Especially in the last game, the TV cameras showed Prince Fielder and other Brewers players chewing tobacco. Do your children ask what they're doing? How do you handle it if they notice?

Jennifer AuBuchon

Well our family is definitely part of the craze! My husband was lucky enough to be at the game Sunday night in Milwaukee.  The kids and I watched the game with friends as we have been doing the last two Friday nights!  We haven't made it to any post-season games as a family, but we'd love to see the World Series!

When we do go to the ballpark, I always take a bag with our own peanuts and water.  That gets my kids through the first five innings or so.  They know they can get one thing when we go (unless it's a special occasion) and it's usually Dippin' Dots.  

'As for "poor examples," we handle those like we do with all of them that we see on TV and around town.  We talk about why it's not the best decision and move on.  I can't wait to see the Cards win the World Series.  We've got friends that promised their kids a new puppy if the Cards win the World Series (they made that promise back when the Cards looked as if they had no chance of winning), so I look forward to meeting their new furry friend!  Oh and my son (10 years old) has become a bit ritualistic about wearing his squirrel rally shirt.  I had to make him give it to me to wash today.  At least it'll be ready for Wednesday's game!  GO CARDS!

Karin Jackson

Oh man the Jacksons are sick with Cardinals fever!  My husband watches/listens to every game (he's always working on something outside, so he listens on the radio but has it on the TV inside so he can run in, rewind the DVR, and watch the awesome Pujols, Molina, or Freese plays with his own eyes)! 

It does make me smile when he gets angry and flips the radio/TV off in fan frustration.  It also makes me smile how these last few weeks he's woken the kids up with the previous night's game results.  High fives abound and it truly just makes my heart happy.  He is raising a houseful of Cardinals fans.

As for games, we do try to get the kids to the ballpark once or twice per year - we get four tickets right behind the Cardinal dugout, so usually I stay home with someone.  I always try to make the kids posters - I remember drawing Fredbird with a cat in his mouth one year for a game against the tigers (you may have seen it on TV!).  The same year, my super sports fan was 5, so his poster read, "Hey Pujols!  I'm 5 too!" 

Just the other day he told me he can't wait until he's 23 so I can make him a Freese poster.

I saw Fielder with his "chaw" last night and was actually surprised anyone still does that.  My kids didn't see it, but I would have told them exactly what it is and exactly what it is known to do. 

The money thing is always fun, too.  We do try to be a frugal family, so our kids hear a lot of "No" when the cotton candy guy comes by.  My husband always packs snacks.  When I go, we tend to park and walk, but he just informed me he does park in the garage with the kids.  I just know they have a ton of fun going to the game with Dad, and we are all super excited to watch the Cardinals beat the Rangers this week!

Lisa May

We are all Cardinals fans in our home! For the first time this year, we went to Jupiter, FL to watch a spring training game. I highly recommend doing this. It was a great time! Unfortunately, we only saw 1 game down there. We did attend several here this year (we usually do not). But, the Cardinals had some good deals at the beginning of the season. So, we attended about four games. 

Our family carries in water and snacks. We do not purchase anything at the game, except occasional nachos. The children don't care, because that is all they know. 

As for bad behavior, we have not seen it. We were not able to watch any of the play-off games, as they were not played on any of the stations we subscribe to. In our basement is a fixed up radio from the 1940s. It gives off the perfect sound to 'watch' a Cardinals game. Just think this is how our grandparents did it!

Jenny Wescoat

My husband is a crazy, obsessed sports fan. He and my 6-year-old son follow several sports together, so there has been a lot of excitement about the Cardinals with those two. They have been listening to the games on the radio together.

As far as going to games, we are pretty frugal. Thankfully there have been several times when we've scored free tickets from generous friends or family.

Once my son even won the drawing through the summer reading program at the library. My husband never complains that he doesn't get to go to enough games, but he gets super-excited when he gets a chance to go. 

My kids are really too young to notice players chewing tobacco, I guess. If they brought it up, I would answer their questions without getting into too much detail. We are kind of a split family when it comes to sports. My husband is an avid fan, and from birth has had my son glued to football, baseball and NASCAR news. I love to go to games, but hate watching them on television, and my 5-year-old daughter has shown zero interest.

Samantha Goswami

We are all Cardinals fans as well, my 8-year-old more so than the rest of us. We go to three to four games at the stadium every season. Most of the time we carry water, peanuts and fruit snacks. The kids have to have a hot dog at the game but the snacks tide us over the rest of the game.  

This year and last year we rented a hotel room at union station and we checked in there, then went to the game and then spent the night. The next morning we have breakfast and so a family outing like the zoo and lunch before returning back home. It makes for a nice mini vacation.
 
As far as the players behavior our kids have not asked about it but my son did go through a phase of spitting when he was 4 after watching baseball games. Luckily that passed.
 
We will watch most of the games on TV this week and next but the kids still have their bedtime deadline.