One Nation: We all know it’s used in the pledge of allegiance, but it’s also well known to our sports teams in St. Louis. The unity between the St. Louis Blues and Cardinals is coined as “One Nation.” This formed when the city of St. Louis was blatantly disrespected by Stan Kroenke, who ripped the Rams football team from the city for a better business investment. When the Rams left, “One Nation” began to grow as a response to Kroenke’s ridiculous claims that this wasn’t a sports town.
The Blues and the Cardinals realized they had to do something after the Rams left. We had to show the nation that we were still the best. Some of the first interactions were simple twitter posts. Blues and Cardinals players out in public together just hanging out, but this grew to something more. This past summer, the teams held a community day in which they combined forces to help serve the St. Louis area. Soon after, St. Louis’ “One Nation” became big: the hashtag spread, shirts were made and the community slowly came out of their post-Rams depression.

According to Kroenke, one reason the Rams left was not enough fan interest . Some thought that all St. Louis sports would struggle after this. In fact, the exact opposite happened. The Cardinals sold out home game after home game, never failing to bring in record-breaking crowds. Even with a disappointing season, the Cardinals kept the same excitement and fandom the entire season, never ceasing to appreciate the St. Louis fans.

The other half of “One Nation”, the St. Louis Blues, did their part as well. The team started off their season hot. They looked great and were bringing in fans like kids to a candy store. In fact the Blues are hosting their own Cardinals night, inviting the whole Cardinals team to a game on March 29. The teams even have joint jerseys they wear for warmups with the “One Nation” design on them.

January 2nd was the pinnacle of the “One Nation” camaraderie. The Blues hosted the Chicago Blackhawks in the Winter Classic game at Busch Stadium. St. Louis showed the USA how much we love our sports by drawing out huge crowds to the events. Over 46,000 attended the game and braved the elements on a cold, rainy January afternoon.

With Major League Soccer now looking to bring a professional soccer team to the city and the Blues and Cardinals continuing to show their fans that they really care, St. Louis is proving each and every day that we are “One Nation.”