The sun came up this morning. I almost expected it to never rise again after Friday, but there it is every morning, blinding my already puffy eyes. Yesterday at the grocery store, the people around me seemed nonchalant, if not downright happy, and all I wanted to do was scream at them, “HOW CAN YOU ALL JUST GO ON LIKE NOTHING HAPPENED! Can’t you see that I’m dying on the inside?!”
But I live in Tennessee, so I guess to most people around me, nothing significant has happened. They don’t know that I, and the millions of others in Cardinals Nation, have lost the love of our lives.
On Friday, we learned that Albert Pujols, arguably the greatest baseball player of my generation, was leaving us for the equivalent of a tall blonde with perky boobs and, oh right, $254 million. Goodbye St. Louis, hello sunny and warm LA. As much as I’m relieved that he didn’t leave us for the Chicago Cubs, maybe it would hurt less if he were leaving us for someone hideously ugly. Like Siberia. Yes I know there isn’t a baseball team in Siberia, THAT ISN’T THE POINT, OKAY?!
It just really hurts, you know? To think you know someone and to find out that they aren’t who you thought they were…this is going to take some time to get over. I thought that we would be together forever, building our life and creating memories and winning more World Series together. I thought that one day we’d build him a statue to stand near the one we built for Stan the Man Musial. And now for it all to just end? WE LOVED HIM and now we know that he just didn’t love us the same way. He’s just like the rest of them, chasing money.
Really, I should have seen the signs, but I couldn’t allow myself to ever imagine that our relationship would end. When discussion of our relationship was put on hold in the spring, that’s when I should have known. Now I’m learning that he didn’t treat us with as much respect as we wanted and deserved. Maybe he’s not as deserving as the pedestal where we as Cardinals Nation placed him, but my heart doesn’t understand this yet.
So for today, I want to wallow in my own misery of Albert Pujols leaving us. Please excuse me while I put on some PJs, grab a pint of Ben & Jerry’s, and listen to Pearl Jam’s Black on repeat.
“I know someday you’ll have a beautiful life,
I know you’ll be a sun in somebody else’s sky, but why
Why, why can’t it be, can’t it be mine”
Why? Only 254 million reasons why.
Girl, I hear you. I was pretty pissed too until I read an article today. You can find it on mlb.com. I still don’t agree with him leaving, but I better understand his reason for doing so. I don’t know that the Cards will win another championship anytime soon, but that doesn’t mean I still won’t cheer for them.
Smoochiefrog´s last [type] ..Needing Some Suggestions
I just read an article by Bernie Miklaus (sp?) on stltoday.com and I’m mad at Albert all over again.
And I’ll always be a Cardinals fan. We’re more than just one, too big of an ego for his own good, player.
As a Cubs fan, I’m not only glad to see him gone from the NL Central, I’m glad he’s now in the AL.
I can, however, understand your pain – but you must understand, these guys are all prostitutes who play for those who will pay. AP got a big head and felt he wasn’t being treated with the ‘respect’ he deserved as the Best Player In Baseball. It’s an unfortunate fact of life that in chasing the money, things like loyalty, devotion and respect have been driven out of the game in favor of the ‘bottom line’. On BOTH sides.
I liked the game much better when I was a kid – when lineups seldom changed from year to year, when pitchers went 9 innings and relievers were run out starters, when the people who played the game did so because they loved the game – not because they were going to become millionaires. Maybe the game itself hasn’t changed – but the people who play it, have.
lceel´s last [type] ..Moday Meanders 12-12
Well, I’m glad he’s in the AL because that means I won’t run into him very often.
And yes, Albert does have a very big ego. I overlooked it for too many years! Not anymore!
As a member of Cardinal Nation, I’m right there with you, feeling that pain. How could he do that to us, doesn’t he know how much we LOVED him?!? UGH!
Thanks for the post!
Merrsidotes´s last [type] ..First Haircut
Well, we’re with you. We were probably the most crazy people in Birmingham about it all. (My boys had a friend of ours in STL go out the morning after game 7 and buy shirts and FEDEX them to us so they could wear them to school ASAP. I have to reciprocate with Bama Nat’l Champs shirts in January. HA!) They were so disappointed in Albert. I remember a similar situation coming up with Greg Maddux at pretty much the height of his career with the Braves. He openly agreed to less money than he could have had. Both he and his wife said at the time that Atlanta was their home. Ahem.
Guess there’s always Freese to cheer for now, hmm?
We got shirts sent to us, too. We were so excited. Now I’m going to have get my Pujols jersey remade into a different player. Maybe Freese will be the lucky guy to earn a place on my jersey!
sorry for your loss. I on the other hand was so happy when the Rangers got Rid of CJ Wilson. I’m happy for him that he is back in his home town but, I never got all rage about him. He choked for the last two seasons when it counted most. The post season is everything. We FINALLY get to the World Series two years in a row and our pitching failed us. grr. I’m thankful we still have Josh, and Micahel and Elvis and so many other great players. I don’t want our team to be known as the Bronco’s of baseball. I want them to win th pennant.
oops sorry it’s a sore spot. haha
Merry Christmas!
Jackie
Well I hope CJ and Albert will be very happy together. And may they never win a World Series.
Well, as a lifelong Angel fan, I am on the other side of this particular moment. Would it make you feel better to know that he’s going to be playing for a team called the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim – a name that’s about as geographically correct as saying he’s playing for the Chicago Cubs of Toronto?
Mama Bub´s last [type] ..Counting Down
Actually that does make me feel slightly better. How ridiculous is that! I had no idea that the name was…not exactly geographically correct.