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Breaking a (redbird) fever

I’m as happy as most people living beneath the shadow of the Gateway Arch that the St. Louis Cardinals have advanced to the World Series. I wish strength to the team’s awesome offense, agility to the peerless defense, and endurance and accuracy to the pitching staff.

But if I hear “Redbird Fever” just one more time, I’m gonna hurl something red.

This is always an unfortunate side-effect of athletic success and championship play - somebody writes a godawful song and it gets played on radio and television morning, noon, and night. Here in St. Louis, that song is “Redbird Fever,” a sports-flavored remake of “Redneck Woman” by Gretchen Wilson. I don’t want to come off as an ingrate, though I guess that’s exactly what I am. The original song, commercial though it may be, is a fun anthem and catchy in a yee-haw kind of way. I say this as someone who stands well outside the song’s intended demographic. But the twangy theme of this tune just doesn’t work for an urban ballclub. There is nothing to connect Albert Pujols or Jimmy Edmonds or Scott Rolen with any kind of country - old, new, alt, or whatever. It’s just jarring.

And then it gets played ten thousand times in a day by boosterish DJs and cheerleading TV stations. I’m looking at you, KDSK. The NBC affiliate is the chief offender in this matter; you can even download the song from their website.

This is not unusual. Songs always get abused during team championship play. I find myself cringing whenever I hear Glenn Frey’s “The Heat is On” or Kool & the Gang’s soul-destroying “Celebration.” Even typing that last sentence made me shudder. But this “Redbird Fever” thing is just the limit.

All I can hope for is a four-game Cardinals victory in the Series. That would stop the madness quickly, I think.

UPDATE - Well. I guess that four-game Redbird win is off the table, eh? In the meantime, I can hear that song cranking up again. As Howie Long says in his latest pitch for Radio Shack, someone please stop the pain.

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