ST. LOUIS — Are we living in the best sports year in St. Louis history?
5 On Your Side Sports Director Frank Cusumano put that question to the audience on Wednesday night.
There are quite a few things working to support that theory.
1: The Blues win the Stanley Cup
Pretty self explanatory here. The Blues' championship alone might qualify this as one of the best sports years in St. Louis history. This town has been waiting 52 years for a championship summer like that one we've just had.
2: MLS is coming to St. Louis
There was a time when it looking like the MLS dream in St. Louis was dead on arrival. But a committed local ownership group finally made it happen. Sure, we have to wait another three years till we get to actually see the new team on the field, but the excitement of the announcement alone has captivated the city.
3: The Billikens are A-10 champs
SLU might not be the biggest draw in town, but their unlikely run to the Atlantic 10 tournament championship was one of the best stories of the year. The resilient Bills shocked everyone with their conference tournament victory, and made their first NCAA Tournament appearance in five years. They were dealt a first round loss, but for about a week they were all the town was talking about.
4: St. Louis will host an XFL franchise
Of course the jury is still out on how well the XFL will actually be received around the country, but nonetheless, St. Louis will once again be home to professional football in some form or fashion. You can mock the BattleHawks name and the logo, but you can't deny it's been a talker around town.
5: The Champions Tour is coming to St. Louis
5 On Your Side Sports Director Frank Cusumano broke the news of another PGA Tour event coming to St. Louis on the same week as the MLS announcement. St. Louis showed the PGA what it could do with a tournament like the PGA Championship back in 2018. Now, we're poised for even more professional golf, and a chance to show why the PGA's faith in us is warranted.
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6: The Bommarito 500 promises to be another great showing
Auto racing's eyes will once again be on St. Louis with the Bommarito Indy Car 500 on August 24. The event has been a big hit over the past few years, and maybe NASCAR will take note and bring a race back to St. Louis.
7: The Cardinals are still fighting for a playoff berth
I strategically placed the Cardinals at the end of this list because they're the ones we're still not quite sure about. They've looked pretty awful at times this season, but are still in the thick of the playoff race with a shot at a division title. If they can end up finding a way into the playoffs, I think 2019's status as an all-time year for sports in St. Louis is secured, if it hadn't already been.
So what do you think? Is 2019 the best sports years we've seen in St. Louis?
I do have to say, it'll be hard to top the year 2000 when it comes to sports years in St. Louis. The Rams won the Super Bowl, the Blues won the President's Trophy and the Cardinals advanced to the NLCS. That's tough to top.