The backlash against the
Part of it has to do with the team's overwhelming success (they've made the NLCS eight times since 2000). But most of it is about the holier-than-thou sense with which its fans carry themselves.
As Deadspin's Drew Magary put it yesterday, "The Cardinals are a giant sucking red hole of good old-fashioned Midwestern piousness, with a fanbase that does 'classy' things specifically so that it can humblebrag about doing classy things."
Notions of "doing things the right way" are central to the team's brand, and baseball fans are fed up with it.
Amid that backlash, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch published this editorial cartoon today that captures what every Cardinals hater dislikes about the team:
Hilarious.
The point of the cartoon: The Dodgers are trying to win the World Series by spending money on players, whereas the Cardinals are trying to win the World Series by using class, dignity, and grit. Since it's NOT FOR SALE, the Cardinals will win by karmic law.
From the article accompanying the cartoon:
"This isn't just a clash of cultures, but of architecture. Bankrolled vs. Built. The Best Team Money Can Buy vs. the club now being called The Best Organization in Baseball."
The Cardinals have a $115 million payroll. Yeah, that's less than the Dodgers' crazy $220 million payroll. But it's still 11th in the league. St. Louis also offered Albert Pujols a 10-year, $220 million contract in 2011, so let's pump the brakes with the notion that the Cardinals don't spend money.
Still, solid trolling.