ST. LOUIS — St. Louis Cardinals fans packed downtown for the 19th opening day at Busch Stadium III.
“I always love the fresh smell of the grass, nachos, people getting beer and just being down here and having a good time,” Jamie Daugherty, a fan, said.
It’s a St. Louis holiday that doesn’t have a spot on your average calendar.
“I think it's like an unofficial holiday and I live over in Illinois. I feel like it should be a day off from school and work,” Kathi White, another fan, said.
For the team and the fans, opening day is all about traditions.
“This is my first time on opening day ever. I'm with my son, his girlfriend (and) my boyfriend, so we're really excited about it,” Christi Conrath said.
And old traditions too.
“We just were at 'Kegs 'N' Eggs. It's the aura, the atmosphere. The people, the people watching. It's just so much fun,” Fred Kues said.
It’s also good for businesses, like Katies Pizza and Pasta, bringing the big bucks back downtown.
“So a very big deal because I’m St. Louis born and raised and this is our third location. We built this restaurant for an opening day we didn’t open in time last year so this is our first one we are stocked up and ready to go we are so excited,” owner Katie Lee said.
This season wipes the slate clean after a rough time last year for fans.
“This is our city. This is our team. This is what it is,” Casey Thomas said.
The cold didn’t keep anyone away and it didn’t stop us from getting that win either.
Some of our favorite Cardinal legends like Pujols, Molina and Wainwright left a little magic behind to put a win on the board beating the Miami Marlins 8-5.
They'll be back this Saturday and Sunday to finish out this series with the Marlins and the forecast for those games is for more baseball-like weather.