ST. LOUIS — There's an old saying that goes, "You never know what you're going to see on any given day at a baseball game." That's certainly true for those in Section 167 at a recent Cardinals/Pirates game at Busch Stadium.
Cardinals fan Abby Riess was at the game and shared a picture and story on Facebook that soon went viral, and for good reason.
A fan, known only as "Beth", wearing a Cubs jersey to the game had been buying food and other merchandise for anyone she could.
"About 10 minutes into the game I noticed she (Beth) was giving stuff away to children, and she was like, 'Does anyone need a bottle of water?' And then it just progressed from there," Riess told 5 On Your Side's Monica Adams. "She would give away a plush ball, she gave my son an autographed picture of Dakota Hudson. It was just very sweet. And then frozen lemonades, she had the usher throwing peanuts... It just sort of evolved. And I thought, 'Wow this is amazing, and she's in a Cubs jersey!'"
So far, Riess' post has been shared more than 3,600 times.
Riess said Beth was living in St. Louis currently, but was originally from Chicago, hence the jersey.
Beth continued giving things away throughout the game, and as it turns out, this may not have been her first time carrying out such a gesture.
"Wherever she is, thank you to her and her family. I think she was sitting with her family that day. Thank you. You guys are great," Riess said. "I actually went up to the hotdog stand and said, 'There's this lady giving things away.' And the usher said, 'Yeah, she did that the day before, too.' So maybe this was something she was doing for multiple days."
At one point, Riess said some fans returned the favor, buying Beth a Cardinals hat, which she accepted. The video below shows that interaction, which was captured by another fan at the game.
And it wasn't just Section 167. Beth's generosity seemed to spread all over that day.
"This was incredibly generous of her to just make sure everybody had something," Riess said. "And there were people who walked up from other sections, and she was like, 'Let's get these kids a lemonade'. I just thought it was extremely generous."
The act of kindness left an impression on Riess, to say the least.
"It's not cheap to go to the ballgame, and it's not cheap for concessions, so I think everyone there was like, 'Wow this is amazing that somebody is thinking of everyone else around them.' And it's just been such a challenging year for everybody and it was just such a heartfelt moment," Riess said.
So Beth, if you're out there, there's a flock of Cardinals fans who won't forget your act of generosity.
"If you do find Beth, please tell her thank you," Riess said. "I think everybody that day was just taken by her kindness."
5 On Your Side was able to track down an email for Beth. We've contacted her but haven't heard back as of this writing.