The Kansas City Royals may be the reigning World Series champions, but at least one Missouri state legislator believes the St. Louis Cardinals should always receive top billing in the state.
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Courtney Allen Curtis, the Missouri State Representative from District 73, which covers part of St. Louis County, has introduced a bill in the House of Representatives seeking to have the Cardinals declared the official baseball team of Missouri.
The document is very real. And as much as we’d like to believe it’s tongue-in-cheek more than anything else, it probably isn’t. In fact, according to the House of Representatives’ website, the bill has been read twice to date.
There’s no real urgency to consider it though, let alone officially write it into the state’s code, as no hearing date has been scheduled and the bill has not yet made the house calendar. Reading between the lines, that would suggest many of Curtis’ colleagues are having a difficult time taking this bill proposal seriously. We can’t imagine why. But it’s not like that response has ever stopped a state or federal legislator from pushing his or her agenda and ultimately getting want they want.
Looking a little deeper at the proposal, Curtis clearly highlights the Cardinals rich history as his basis, noting that their time in Missouri can be traced back to 1882. Meanwhile, most are tracing the root of his proposal back to Nov.. 1, 2015. That’s the date Kansas City clinched its first World Series championship since 1985 and gave its fans real bragging rights for the first time in just as long.
We’re sure Royals fans have taken full advantage of those privileges, and we’re sure Cardinals fans, which Curtis appears to be, have grown tired of it.
As one Vice Sports writer put it:
The Cardinals spent many years basking in the glory of Missouri as the little brother Royals kicked dirt around, but then everyone got Royals fever. And on the day they held their Victory parade, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch put together a slide show asking which team was better. Big brothers aren’t supposed to be the ones with inferiority complexes, but here we are.
Indeed, here we are.
Perhaps there’s a compromise to be found somewhere in this. After all, the cardinal isn’t even the state bird of Missouri. The bluebird is. If Curtis or anyone else wants to truly make a statement here, perhaps that’s where they should start.
[MLB season preview: As always, don’t sleep on the Cardinals]
Then again, if someone really wanted to ruffle some feathers in Missouri, they might suggest renaming it the “Royal” bluebird.
One thing is for sure. No matter what, if anything, comes of this proposal, Missouri will always be a baseball state divided.
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Mark Townsend is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at bigleaguestew@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Townie813
- Sports & Recreation
- Baseball
- St. Louis Cardinals
- Missouri State Representative
- Kansas City Royals
- Allen Curtis
- House of Representatives
- Missouri
