I took a stroll around the hotel, to see the sights, and sounds of what was to going on outside the media area. (As a result, I missed the Randal Grichuk interview. #RookieMistake) I spotted Tony LaRussa walking around, though, not aimlessly–he was obviously headed to some destination, escorted by a member of security.
As I walked around the place, I caught a few scenes that I took note of.
There’s a significant area dedicated to kids. There’s a bounce house, play area, an area where kids (or, I guess adults too) can make little craft projects, and performers too. While I was down there, I saw “Jeff the Juggler”. Dude was juggling swords while balancing on a big red ball or something. Pretty wild stuff. I like the idea behind it, though–get those kids interested at a young age.
As you may expect, there was booth after booth after booth of companies selling memorabilia, calendars, bats, balls…etc. There was no shortage of Cardinals Heyward jerseys and shirseys for sale throughout the place, as well. Everywhere you turned, there are fans carrying bags of merchandise, souvenirs, and items they’d brought from home to have autographed. I saw bats, baseball cards, helmets, I saw one kid carrying a base, and one man walking around with a home plate.
A pretty wide variety of fans, if I do say so. #BFIB, baby! (I considered a post, complete with pics, of all the, ahem, different fashion statements, of the fan base, but decided to leave that to the guys at JSF.)