big-league-ready talent and the results showed.<\/a> The team missed three straight playoffs, and in 2025, attendance at Busch Stadium dipped to 19th in the league.<\/p>\n\u201cThey were at the point where they weren\u2019t doing the attendance quiz anymore, because it was too embarrassingly low,\u201d season ticket holder Ryan Russell told me, shirtless and showing off his dad bod. \u201cAfter what management did and everybody voting with their feet to not come back, the team does need something.\u201d<\/p>\n
Still even when the so-called Cardinals Way was a thing, you might walk around Busch and ask 10 fans what it meant, and get 20 different answers. But not Tarps Off. This is a movement that doesn\u2019t require words. It\u2019s visceral and primal, and yes, sometimes regretful.<\/p>\n
At its best, it\u2019s two and a half hours of passion. Nightly roll calls that start with chants of \u201cJor-dan Walk-er,\u201d the 24-year-old native of Stone Mountain, Ga., who\u2019s reaching his peak in this All-Star-caliber season, and dance moves fueled by domestic beer when the opening chords of shortstop Masyn Winn\u2019s walkout song (\u201cE.I.\u201d) blast through the stadium.<\/p>\n
I\u2019m a sucker for cornrows and manicured toes. Fendi capri pants and Parasuco\u2019s, as crooned by St. Louis\u2019s own Nelly.<\/p>\n
The Cardinals Way was tradition. But Tarps Off is just vibes.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you look at St. Louis, the years they were good, and even go back when Ozzie (Smith) and that group was here, man, this was a party,\u201d Marmol told me. \u201cIt was a good time to be in the stands at a game at their stadium. With our young group and our roster, that\u2019s why we leaned into that (Tarps Off) group in right field the way we did, because I think it plays well with everybody having a good time.\u201d<\/p>\n
Last Friday night, five friends, none older than 20, showed up early for the prime spots at the front of the bleachers. Lucas Gospodarski wore no shirt but covered the scars from his several heart surgeries with a \u201c6\u201d and a \u201c7\u201d \u2014 the meme of choice for Gen Alpha \u2014 painted in red.<\/p>\n
\u201cHopefully they catch me on broadcast,\u201d he said, smiling.<\/p>\n
![\"From](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/IMG_4422-scaled.jpeg\")
<\/p>\n
\n From left, Sean Tenney, Chase Eberwein, Cayson Bridgeforth, Lucas Gospodarski and Riley Tilley showed up early for the prime spots at the front of the bleachers. (Candace Buckner \/ The Athletic)<\/p>\n
A watchful usher caught his buddy, Chase Eberwein, before the cameras did, and so Eberwein\u2019s upper body looked like a smeared mess \u2014 although you could still clearly read the \u201cCubs Suck\u201d across his torso. Cayson Bridgeforth, the friend who spoke in 2x speed, would normally bounce during the sixth inning whenever he attended a Cards games, but Tarps Off has kept him invested.<\/p>\n
\u201cSometimes baseball games can be boring, but this makes it, like, really fun, you know what I\u2019m saying?\u201d Bridgeforth said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe most fun I\u2019ve ever had at a game,\u201d Eberwein chimed in.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis makes me want to be here the whole time, \u2019cause it\u2019s like a high school student section,\u201d Bridgeforth continued.<\/p>\n
Like high school, the chants emanating from the Tarps Off crew can be a bit sophomoric. Through the series, Cubs outfielder Pete Crow-Armstrong, known by his initials, starred as their favorite target. Whenever he approached the batter\u2019s box, boos smoothly transitioned into a chorus of \u201cOver-rated!\u201d<\/p>\n
Friday night, a guy in his 20s remembered PCA\u2019s recent incident in which he responded to a female heckler with vulgarity, and so the Cards fan shouted: \u201cHe hates women!\u201d However, when humidity met toxic masculinity, and with the protection that comes with being in a crowd, several bros in the back of the bleachers chanted something that would\u2019ve embarrassed their mothers, and most of civilized society: \u201cP-C-Gay!\u201d<\/p>\n
Saturday night, however, Crow-Armstrong shushed the \u201cOver-rated\u201d noise by drilling a 444-foot homer \u2014 right to the Tarps Off gang.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey got like hundreds of shirtless guys in right field. Interesting thing for the year. But they\u2019re rowdy and showing up,\u201d Crow-Armstrong said. \u201cThey\u2019re buying into something, so I can appreciate it. They don\u2019t really rest for nine innings. I guess that\u2019s what they\u2019re there to do.\u201d<\/p>\n
Tarps Off is what happens when a younger, louder roster and the newer, more appealing innovations in the game appeal to a demographic baseball has been desperate to woo. In St. Louis, every waved shirt feels like a victory.<\/p>\n
Upon entering Busch Stadium, an announcement intones: \u201cWelcome to Baseball Heaven.\u201d Yet near the steps that lead to the Tarps Off section, a sign serves as a warning: \u201cThis area may not be suitable for guests seeking a traditional seated game experience.\u201d<\/p>\n
Tradition\u2019s for the birds. Tarps Off? That\u2019s for the Cardinals.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"ST. LOUIS \u2014 The place that calls itself \u201cBaseball Heaven\u201d is now filled with a bunch of shirtless…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":715289,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2403],"tags":[5,160,4129,4,5386,673,67,4311,4310],"class_list":["post-715288","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-st-louis-cardinals","tag-baseball","tag-cardinals","tag-culture","tag-mlb","tag-opinion","tag-st-louis","tag-st-louis-cardinals","tag-stlouis","tag-stlouiscardinals"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@mlb\/116680041759293904","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/715288","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=715288"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/715288\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/715289"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=715288"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=715288"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=715288"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
![\"These](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/IMG_4441-scaled.jpeg\")
<\/p>\n