Recycled Entertainment

With the Covid19 enforced limits on public entertainment, our media outlets are getting creative in hooks to keep us as viewers and/or listeners.

My own longing has been for the baseball season. There I was, finally finished with winter and looking forward with joy to the Cardinals’ season to begin. We were part way through Spring training when Bam! we were hit with the shutdown caused by Covid19. Professional ball players all over the U.S. were sent home from their winter training facilities and put on hold until the Commissioner felt it was safe to play ball again.

Many of us would rally each time it was hinted that maybe the leagues could play safely if the stands were empty.  Then the questions arose about the safety of the players. Would they need to stay in hotels away from their families for 4 months?  Would they need to be checked daily for temperature elevations or other symptoms of the virus?  Would they be able to eat meals together or would they have to have meals brought to their hotel rooms? And what about the players who didn’t think it would be right to play without an audience?

The baseball season was swiftly passing by with no resolution to the problem and Covid19 was showing no signs of going away any time soon. My baseball withdrawals were at an all time high and depression was starting to overtake me.

KMOX to the rescue! The local St Louis radio station that would normally air each Cardinals game through the season looked back in time and found some pretty good seasons to use for replay.  For the past two weeks, every evening at about 6:00 and noon on Sundays, the last month of the 2011 season is being replayed. Oh the joy of hearing Shannon and Rooney announcing the games with their familiar patter and the background noise of the fans, the crack of the bat, and the sometimes raucous sound of the organ. For those of you who do not remember that season, let me tell you it was magic! During that long summer, the Cardinals’ play had been wavering between excellent team work and disastrous slump. In a final rally, the team got ‘hot’ and raced toward a wild card pick. Sure enough, they made it! Yet their play was still somewhat dicey as they met the division place holders, the Milwaukee Brewers. That team had played with gusto all season and looked like a sure thing for the World Series and destined to be the champions. But, it was not to be. The Cinderella Cardinals desired to go to the Ball and rolled over the Brewers in 6 games. Total magic!

The replay of the season has not ended yet, and even though I know what will happen, I can’t wait to hear it all again.