MARK MY WORDS: TAKE ME OUT TO THE BALLGAME FAMILY STYLE

The score didn't matter. So what if the Cards lost to the Cubs?

Joni and I enjoyed Sunday's baseball game at Busch Stadium because it was another first in the life of our 2-year-old daughter, Becca. She attended her first baseball game.

In the long run, the fact that the Chicago Cubs beat the St. Louis Cardinals 9-7 on a day sparkling with summer sunshine won't mean much to Becca.

But for her parents, it will be a day to remember, one of those family days that makes for pleasant memories.

This was the fourth time that Joni and I had seen the Cards play this summer and the fourth time we had seen them lose. That point was not lost on our Cape Girardeau friends, who welcomed us back to town with a message on our answering machine. The message: Cardinal Manager Joe Torre doesn't want us to attend any more games.

But I wouldn't put Sunday in the same category as those other losses. The other three times we didn't take along Becca.

Taking a 2-year-old to the ballpark is an experience. We couldn't just take our daughter to the stadium. We also had to take along Angel, her Cabbage Patch doll, as well as her teddy bear, a container of cinnamon-flavored graham crackers shaped like teddy bears, a thermos of lemonade, and the ever present diaper bag.

When we arrived at our seats behind home plate in the upper deck, the game was already under way and beer-drinking Cubs fans occupied most of the surrounding seats.

They were clapping and yelling loudly. And why not? The Cubs scored six runs in the first inning, helped out by a bunch of walks by the Cardinal's woeful starting pitcher.

Even Becca joined in the clapping, mimicking those around her.

She spent much of the first half of the ballgame climbing in and out of her seat, and eating the graham crackers and a hotdog.

She even participated in the Wave, one of those inexplicable things that crowds do.

About the middle of the game, with the Redbirds trailing 7-1, we departed for the kids area at the stadium.

The area, located above and behind the bleachers, is equipped with white, plastic tables and red, plastic chairs. Chocolate ice cream, not beer, is the big seller in this section.

Front-row tables give you a good view of the center fielder's back, but otherwise you have to watch the game from television monitors.

But when your team is being pummeled, it goes down better with chocolate ice cream and cotton candy.

In the late innings, the Cards made it closer. Becca joined in with the crowd in singing "Take Me Out to the Ballgame." We had spent a day coaching her on the song. She managed to say most of the words. Joni and I exchanged proud-parent smiles.

In the ninth inning, we managed to secure a table overlooking the bleacher section. From there, we could see everything but first base and right field.

Becca pressed her face up against the metal bars and looked out on a sea of green Astroturf. "Go Cards," she gleefully exclaimed.

Unfortunately, it didn't help. The Cardinals still lost.

But for Becca the day at the ballpark had been fun. It didn't matter that the Cards had lost to the Cubs, or that there was a players' strike looming.

For her, just being there was great. And vicariously viewing it through the eyes of a 2-year-old, we experienced some of that same innocent enjoyment.

I am not sure Joe Torre would understand it. But for us, there was plenty of reason to smile.

~Mark Bliss is a staff writer for the Southeast Missourian.