Wednesday, June 12, 2013

Cardinals Suck at Commemorative Cups

See for yourself. 
You guys might want to talk about how the Royals have won 7 of their last 8 games, or how we took 2 of 3 from the Tigers, or how Jose Valverde’s goatee is uglier than the streets of Detroit after midnight, but I have more pressing matters to write about: the HUGE gap between the Royals and Cardinals commemorative cups.

I made a recent trek up to St. Louis to visit my future graduate school, and scheduled the trip around the Royals and Cardinals series. I had never been to Busch Stadium, and as much as I want to lie about it being a piece of junk, was actually a really nice stadium. Although I was heckled by fans before, during, and after the game – I attended the game in which Aaron Crow blew a two run lead in the bottom of the 8th inning – the stadium itself was quite impressive. Maybe not “baseball heaven” as they call it, but a nice stadium nonetheless.

But everything soon changed after I made my habitual journey to a concession stand. You see, I like to purchase commemorative cups from every stadium at which I attend a game. I have NFL cups, MLB cups, MLS cups, college, and minor league baseball cups. They are my version of shot glasses, pennants, posters, etc. that people collect when they visit many different stadiums. The cups can get pricey, but when people come over and ask if they can have a drink, they are always impressed by my collection.

So when I purchased a burger basket meal at Busch Stadium and ordered the commemorative cup, I knew that this was a good time of year for cups. After all, it should be the first cup of the year for the team, assuming they have multiple versions, and should also feature the schedule. Having gotten one from Kauffman Stadium on Opening Day, I had a certain expectation for the cup. I was sadly disappointed.

As you can see above, the Cardinals cup lacks any sort of originality, flair, or pizzazz that the Royals cup does. While the Royals cup features three players, the team’s slogan – Come to Play – and the team schedule, the Cardinals just simply has the logo and the schedule. In fact, I’m not even sure if what the Cardinals sold me should even be labeled as a commemorative cup. It’s closer to just being a cup. What is it commemorating?! Nothing.

As a commemorative cup connoisseur, this is exactly the sort of arrogance I should have expected from the Cardinals organization. It’s as if they think winning 11 World Series and being a perennial contender somehow excuses them from offering an aesthetically pleasing commemorative cup to their clientele.

No St. Louis, it does not. 

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