ST. LOUIS — When Jan Daniels puts her mind to something, there's no stopping her. That's why you could find her outside of Busch Stadium on Thursday, even though there was no game to be found inside.
The coronavirus may have put sports — and the rest of the country — on pause, but Jan had a promise to fulfill.
Jan's determination was built on love.
She met her late husband Dan after he came back from the Korean War and took her out for their first date on their birthday.
"You dream about meeting someone like that. And when you do, it's just magic," Jan said.
Dan and Jan loved each other. They also loved baseball. Dan helped show Jan the ins and outs of the game, and soon she was keeping a scorecard every game and memorizing statistics.
The couple also started a special streak all those years ago. Jan and Dan attended 60 straight Cardinals home opening days.
"They both looked so forward to the home openers. Mom laid her outfits out the day before. Just so excited for that day," son Stephen Daniels said.
There were a few times the streak was in jeopardy, but they always managed to make it down to the ballpark.
Dan passed away a few years ago, but Jan knew she had to continue the tradition. Rain, snow or pandemic, Jan was going to be down at the ballpark with her tickets in hand ready to keep the streak alive.
"I promised him I would do it. And one thing he wanted to do too was to visit all 30 parks, so I'm going to try to do that too" Jan said. "I just wanted myself to know that I was ready to go. I was ready. Baseball wasn't."
When asked what her husband might think of her determination to keep the streak alive, Jan just smiled.
"He'd just have a big smile on his face knowing she's doing something she wants to do," Jan said.
More Cardinals Coverage
RELATED: Don't go out to the ballgame, don't go out with the crowd: Cardinals hosting 'Stay Home Opener'