One or both of the following statements are true: 1: My five year old grandnephew, Luke, is a genius. Or, 2: My dad’s spirit is influencing Luke. You see, Luke became a Cardinals baseball fan at four years of age, despite living in a Cubs household. This is seriously good news.

A bit of background.

My dad, and his brothers were all Cardinals Fans. Perhaps not surprisingly, my sisters, Roberta and Tanya, and I also became lifelong Cardinals fans.

As Roberta and Tanya had kids, I think we all assumed they’d be Cardinals fans too, but things went wrong and a generation was lost. All six of their kids became Cubs fans. It was so bad, my niece Tami earned the nickname Ferris in high school, for driving to Chicago to watch the Cubs at a day game.

Over time, the rivalry sparked good natured betting and smack talk between the generations. Having said that, a real low point for me was when the Cubs won the 2015 playoff series between the Cubs and the Cards. My sisters and I lost the bet on the series and had to wear Cubs jerseys during an extended family gathering at The Bears Den, a local watering hole. The shame of it all… ;-).

Back to the present.

Last year, my niece Diane, her husband Kyle, and their four year old son Luke were watching the Cubs on TV. Luke suddenly said “Why are we watching these guys? We should be watching the red guys, you know the Cardinals.” Diane answered him “How do you know about the Cardinals? We only watch the Cubs in our house.” Luke laughed and said he didnt know. After that, any time they watched the Cubs, Luke would say he was a Cardinals fan, ”because the Cardinals win.”

Then, a couple of months ago, Diane was wearing her Cubs tee shirt. Luke looked at her and said “Mom, why are you wearing the blue guys shirt? You need the red guys, you know the ones who win all the time – the Cardinals“. Diane told him “Luke, we are Cubs fans in this house”. Luke looked back, dead serious, and said “You should leave”. It was all my niece could do to not bust out laughing.

Roberta and I were chuckling when Diane texted us the story. Diane then mentioned Luke wanted a Cardinals’ shirt for his fifth birthday on May 15th of this year. I immediately jumped on the idea and said I’d buy him a shirt. I proposed a Molina (current Cardinals catcher) jersey. Diane discussed it with her sisters, Tami and Kathi, and they decided Molina was a Cardinal they could agree to. Tami said “If I have to pick a Cardinal, it’s Molina. He plays the game right”.

I ordered the shirt and it was delivered to Diane and Kyle. They gave the shirt to Luke a few days before his birthday and he was a pretty happy little guy. They told him it was from his Uncle Max and Grandpa Bill. He doesn’t know dad at all of course, and isn’t really sure who I am, since we haven’t seen him in a while. That’s OK. There’s nothing too good for a fellow Cardinals fan.

Those are the facts of the story. What the facts don’t explain is the heart of the story. How and why did Luke become a Cardinals fan at such an early age? His mom and dad are Cubs fans. His aunts and uncles are Cubs fans. His friends are all Cubs or White Sox fans. Hell, his daycare plays Cubs games on TV if there’s a day game. In fact, Kyle and Diane aren’t aware of ANY Cardinal fans in his life right now. The last possibility, Roberta, swears she has never said anything about the Cardinals to him, although there were times she wanted to.

I was inclined to put it in the, “well, Luke is just really smart, and that’s why he’s a Cards fan” category. Then Diane, her sisters, and Roberta pointed out there are several things he does similar to my dad and maybe dad was somehow influencing him. I laughed at first but they kept talking.

His Aunt Kathi pointed out he often stands exactly as dad did, with his hands behind his back. In fact they’d remarked before “he stands like Grandpa Bill” and often has a thoughtful look on his face when talking that reminds them of dad. If you see him in a picture, it’s exactly the stance dad often used. It always looked like dad was doing a modified “Parade Rest” from his military days, and now Luke does the same.

Diane added Luke’s demeanor is similar to dad’s. “He has an old soul. He talks respectfully with people. Ask him about tractors or cows, and you would think he’s been around them forever. As to baseball, it’s not just that he’s a Cardinals fan. It’s as if he’s been a fan for years and knows their history and players”. That fits dad to a T.

He’s evidently also “courteous” around the ladies, another trait he shares with dad. Diane mentioned, “He”s such a gentleman already. He has a friend (girl) who lives next door and when they play together, he walks over to pick her up, and walks her home afterwards”. There’s also the story of Luke at 3 1/2 escorting another little girl by the hand to ‘”their car” and opening the door for her. Anyone who ever met dad, knows he went out of his way to be nice to women.

The tie with Dad is a bit thin, but I’m inclined to give it credence. Dad always had a way with kids, and treated them as people, not children. Several years ago, I remember him having a conversation with our paper boy about baseball and team prospects for the coming year. This was when he was in his 70s, and the paperboy was probably 12. I’m a baseball fan, but I was amazed at the depth of their conversation.

Hmmmm….

I love all of my nieces and nephews equally, and long ago forgave them for becoming Cubs fans. The same goes for the next generation. Not having kids of our own, Cathy and I love and enjoy all our grand nieces and nephews vicariously. The pictures, videos and stories are great, and we feel lucky to be a distant part of their lives.

As to Luke, I’m just glad we have another Cardinals fan in the family. Is he a genius? Is there a spiritual influence from Dad? Maybe it’s a little of both. I know it gives me hope for the future. ;-).

Addendum:

• There really is no accounting for how Luke became a Cardinals fan. It’s a mystery, particularly at such a young age.

• I should also point out that our niece, Lana, from Cathy’s side of the family is a San Francisco Giants fan, and an intense one at that. We’ve gone to several Nats/Giants games with her and her dad, Don. She inherited her love of the Giants from Don.

• If you want to read about the family Cubs/Cards wager in ‘15 in greater detail, here’s the link. It was actually my second blog ever… https://mnhallblog.wordpress.com/2015/10/22/all-i-want-for-christmas-is-a-cubs-jersey/