War on minds of fans, players

ST. LOUIS -- It's a tradition in St. Louis dating at least to the days of Ozzie Smith and Whitey Herzog -- fans in this baseball-mad town decked out for home games in red. On Monday, the red was joined by plenty of white and blue, too.

In a town where the baseball season opener is a holiday ranking right up there with Christmas and Independence Day, there was a little different feel as the defending NL Central champs opened against the Milwaukee Brewers. Fans were thinking baseball as they watched the Cardinals rally for an 11-9 win, but couldn't stop thinking about the war in Iraq, either.

"The war does put baseball into perspective, but this is what they're over there for, so we won't have any more 9-11s," said Sandra Guge, 59, of Caseyville, Ill. "God bless them."

Many fans paid tributes in ways big and small to the troops. Some tucked small American flags into the Cardinals caps. Some wore yellow ribbons. Guge wore two buttons, reading "United We Stand," "Rally Around the Flag," and a pin honoring POWs.

Ryan Ehlers, 24, of Waterloo, Ill., paid tribute in his own way, with a star-spangled bandanna draped over his head. Like many fans, Ehlers said he was focusing on baseball, but he couldn't help but think about the war.

"It's not hard for me to get fired up for baseball," he said. "I'm thinking about baseball, but I'm thinking about them (the troops), too."

That was true in the dugouts as well.

"We're playing a game for a living and that's real life over there," St. Louis manager Tony La Russa said. "But life goes on and this is our life."

Patriotism was evident everywhere. Outside Busch Stadium, two fire trucks parked near the Stan Musial statue raised their aerial ladders to hoist a massive American flag. Representatives of all of the Armed Forces presented the colors before the game and threw out ceremonial first pitches.

In his seat behind the Cardinals dugout, Marty Prather of Springfield, Mo., known as the "Sign Man," typically displays signs either touting Cardinals players or poking good-natured fun at opponents. His message was more serious Monday: "Baseball has Players -- America has Heroes."

Prather said he originally displayed the sign during the first game after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. With the nation at war, he felt it was time to bring it out again.

Prather said that while the troops in Iraq are on his mind, he welcomed baseball's arrival.

"It does give you a little bit of relief," Prather said. "It's a release. And it's important for the troops over there. They follow the ball scores, too."

Prather said the mood around the ballpark was somewhat melancholy but a far cry from that post-9-11 game.

"When you walked into that ballpark, you didn't know whether you should cheer or cry," Prather said. "It's not like that today, but there's definitely a different feel."