The 2011 Cardinals were the underdog in the National League Division Series between the Cardinals and the Phillies. But in the middle of Game 4, in an at bat featuring Phillies veteran Roy Oswalt against Cardinal utility player Skip Schumacher, a squirrel ran onto the field, well, he more bounded in little flying jumps, running straight toward home plate in the middle of an Oswalt pitch.
The pitch crossed inside the plate, the Squirrel ran in front of Schumacher, headed from the Cardinal dugout toward the Philly dugout, the umpire called the pitch a ball, Oswalt stood slump-shouldered, wanting a do-over, the Cardinals rallied to win the game, and with all of that, a little squirrel set of a craze in St. Louis. He (or she?) became a sensation, and St. Louis had its Rally Squirrel.
In the 2011 post-season, the Cardinals would have many more rallies, and with each one, the legend of the Rally Squirrel would grow larger. When the Cardinal won Game 7 of the World Series, the Rally Squirrel became cemented in Cardinal baseball lore.
The Cardinals started the post season a 1000-1 long shot to go all the way. At the start of their historic run, a a magical thing happened: a little squirrel picked St. Louis. And the Cardinals and their fans rode the charm of the squirrel all the way to a world championship.
Rally Squirrel Shrine (pictured above)
The Rally Squirrel is not like "Fredbird", a corny, corporate created mascot. The Rally Squirrel is a magical thing that was created by no one, except possibly the fans. From day one, all sorts of impromptu Rally Squirrel sightings started to appear. Fans were attaching little squirrel tails to their hats. They'd sport a squirrel on their shoulder. They had fun with it and it added a level of charm to the post season.
Baseball always says it's about the fans. The Rally Squirrel either belongs to no one - or it belongs to the fans. It does not belong in a court room. It does perhaps belong on a statue in front of Busch Stadium, with a placque commemorating this incredible 2011 championship season.
4 comments:
So...is there a battle? Are there news stories about it?
The PD reported of a battle over RS rights last weekend.
It's wierd. A couple of days have past, and now the RS seems to have lost some steam.
But I doubt that makes a difference when it comes to the legal battle...
Tier 1 Development has filed a TM for Rally Squirrels and we're going to allow fans and small businesses to use the Rally Squirrel trade mark. We're also building a great community fan site that will allow Cardinals fans to schedule "Rally Squirrels Tailgating" events.
We're also going to allow members of Rallysquirrels.com to submit their own T-Shirt designs and the favorites (voted by the community) will be able to sell them directly through the RS website. Best of all, they'll be able to keep 100% of the revenue generated.
Please register at the website, you'll be alerted when the official site launches.
Thanks!
So what's the deal? Will the Rally Squirrel be free? Or owned by a corporation or business interest? This sounds promising, but please explain.
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