ST. LOUIS — Cardinals fans were excited to be back in the stands and even just outside Busch Stadium to welcome home their favorite baseball team.
Fans came out in droves for St. Louis’ unofficial holiday.
“It's a holiday really. Opening day is a holiday. Everyone's happy out here, everyone's enjoying the Cardinals,” Cardinals fan Kate Barker said.
The sidewalks, the stands and Ballpark Village are packed with fans with beers in hand, enjoying the buzz of St. Louis Cardinals opening day.
Roxie Scales said there’s a lot she loves about baseball, “The crowds, the camaraderie, the devotion that St. Louis has for a sports teams. We are everything when it comes to sports.”
While the team spirit is the same, there are some changes to the game.
Fans weighed in on the new pitch clock in place, to set the pace.
Kay Pena said it didn’t seem to make the game go by faster.
“It seems similar. It seems very similar but I think they're just getting used to it. I think everybody was a little jittery about it,” Pena said.
Blue Jays fan Grant Wickes said he thought the game was a lot faster.
“The pitch clock actually helps a lot when you think about it. There were roughly 35 hits today and it was incredible. It would've been a four-hour game otherwise. It was really good,” Wickes said.
But Cardinals fans didn't quite get the result they wanted.
“It was a great opening day, a long game, exciting up-and-down but you know we didn't come out on top,” Archie Wayne said.
Blue Jays fans, however, will be flying home with a win.
“This was an exciting opening game really quite an amazing back-and-forth. We had a big win to start the first inning and then all of a sudden it just fell apart and we come back at the end so it was great stuff,” Wickes said.
From the littlest fans to the long time fans they hope this season will be a great one.
“I think we're going to look good this season. I think we will be just fine,” Wayne said.
Blue Jays fans said they had a great time, and the Cardinals fans are hoping for redemption.
It's an off-day Friday and then they'll play two more games this series on Saturday and Sunday.