Tiger Woods sank the putt to birdie the final hole of the PGA Championship at Bellerive, walking off like a legend into a sea of fans waving and hanging on his last movement.
The only athlete who wore red in St. Louis and got more love would be Yadier Molina, but on this Sunday in St. Louis, it was the greatest golfer of my lifetime getting a curtain call as he put down his clubs and took off his glove.
The week-long event was the latest showcase for a city that never fails to show up for a major sporting event. If there's one thing I hate, it's wrongful hate coming St. Louis' way. A city I grew up in, have lived most of my life in, and will die in doesn't deserve unwarranted and unsubstantiated criticism.
Sure, you can show me the crime rate and how St. Louis sits in the top five for least safe to visit, and I'll shake my head and laugh at your "selective" statistics. This Midwestern town isn't perfect, but the sports fever is real and never fails to show up.
And let me table a thought going through your head about not waving our flag whenever an event goes well, and our city is celebrated. There's nothing wrong with being proud and accepting acclaim. This doesn't venture into what fans of rival baseball teams complain about with the "best fans in baseball" label. This is a city that was scorned by an owner and given a black eye that never fails to create conversation. When Stan Kroenke picked the Rams up and took them to Los Angeles, it wasn't just business, but a personal attack on this city.
He put into public record that this town wasn't a viable spot for a football team, and the NFL bought that ridiculous claim before helping Kroenke take the team elsewhere to make an extra buck. It's one thing to take a team for business purposes and quite another to make a claim that isn't true.
The PGA Championship was just another example of people here showing up in droves for a major sporting event. Let's go down the list of recent examples.
When the NHL gave St. Louis and Busch Stadium a Winter Classic in January of 2017, the fans packed Busch not only for the main event but for the Legends Game as well. It was an extended celebration instead of a one-time party.
When something big comes to town, St. Louis doesn't just bring a keg and hang out; they roll out the red carpet and throw an unforgettable party. After the game, NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman talked about St. Louis getting an All-Star game soon.
The Rams didn't leave without a fight. Dave Peacock and Bob Blitz had a solid plan for a new stadium on the northern waterfront of the Mississippi, and the city was getting behind it when Kroenke made his play. There was interest because there was a strong football fandom in St. Louis.
When Dana White and the UFC brought an event here last year, it was a huge success. White proclaimed that he'd be coming back for more action in the future after the crowds downtown were overwhelming for the fighting event.
You don't have to take a long look downtown to see that the St. Louis Cardinals gather enough passion in this city for two sports teams. They pack 3 million fans into Busch Stadium on a yearly basis, a claim that finishes second only to the Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League. Playoffs or not, the baseball fans come out. How many cities can say that?
Look at the St. Louis Blues. They ranked 12th in the NHL out of 30 teams in average attendance last year. It's not top ten gold, but for a team that doesn't have all the investors and capital that other Eastern Conference teams (who dominate the top 10) have. Hockey fans regularly show up every single year, and the league is taking notice. This coming season, the Blues will have ten games on National television.
People will say that the city failed to ignite movement on an MLS soccer team coming to St. Louis last year, but that movement isn't dead. If more private money comes in and the city and county find a way to join forces on funding, the MLS could easily revamp interest in the region. That was a rare occurrence of St. Louis sports fans refusing to go all-in on a sport. They do come out and support the local St. Louis FC soccer team though, which has developed a passionate following in recent years.
You didn't have to be a golf fan to understand the impact this past weekend's tournament had on the city and on the players who walked up and down the greens and fairways in Town and Country.
Take it from Woods himself.
"I wish we could play in front of crowds like this every week because this was a true pleasure," Woods told the media after finishing second to Brooks Koepka in the tournament.
Koepka couldn't help but mention how the crowd was undoubtedly pro-Woods as Sunday wrapped up the competition. He would be setting up a putt on one green while hearing the roar of the crowd as Woods made his play a few holes away. He laughed as he said it, knowing that he won the battle, but respectfully lost the war to an old lion who refuses to go quietly into the night.
Seeing Woods clothed in the classic red polo and scaling the green will be a sight few golf addicts and casual purveyors of the game will ever forget. How many times can you recall golf fans roaring in the crowd repeatedly, as if a Monster Truck jam session was going on and not a meticulously crafty game like golf was taking place? The only comparison one could make would be if Michael Jordan visited St. Louis for the NBA Finals 20 years ago.
St. Louis may have breathed fresh life into Woods' knees, but the event was another example of St. Louis sports fans showing passion in numbers. A greedy football owner tried to put something over about this city back in 2016 that simply didn't take with a single soul here. Instead of sulking and staying home, the city has stood up and come together for multiple sports since then.
Whenever a National event comes to town, St. Louis shows up. It's as simple as that.
On Sunday night, I picked up a couple out-of-town guests who attended the golf tournament and we drove by the Edward Jones Dome. They asked, "what happens there now?" I replied with, "Concerts and special events mostly." When they asked what my feelings were on the departed Rams team, I had a quick answer. "We are doing fine without them."
Sure, St. Louis could stay quiet and not boast every time something goes well here that gets national attention, but I feel like it's our duty to pound our chests a little when legendary sports figures are amazed by the commitment here.
Me? I'm just sitting here in South City with a noble smile on my face. When it comes to showing up, few places stand taller than St. Louis in their versatile love of sports.
