My wild sports weekend with Nathan

When I noticed several months ago that the Frozen Four would be played in St. Louis in 2025, I jumped at the chance to attend, even though I had never been before.

Why? Because my fun cousin Nathan lives in St. Louis, well, Clayton just west of the city.

As a graduate of Denver University, I have enjoyed college hockey over the years, especially in recent years as DU dominated the college ranks with national titles in 2004, 2005, 2017, 2022 and 2024. It’s been great for me as a fan.

But while I follow my Pioneers fairly closely as an alum, I always felt I didn’t follow the sport of college hockey closely enough to go to a random Frozen Four – the final four of ice hockey – in whatever city it was being held. Until St. Louis.

St. Louis? Well, now, that’s different. St. Louis has Nathan and my St. Louis Cardinals. And they were even in town the same weekend as the Frozen Four. What bliss! And so the trip was planned.

I flew in Thursday, and after Nathan – a high school science teacher – got done for the day, we headed for the Enterprise Center, home of the St. Louis Blues and, this year, the Frozen Four. DU lost to conference opponent Western Michigan in double overtime, 3-2, but after a lackluster first two periods for the Pioneers my team upped the energy and played a thriller.

We also watched the first period of the Boston U-Penn State game, but then we headed home as I had, by then, been up for about 17 hours.

Friday, we enjoyed pre-game beverages at Ballpark Village at Busch Stadium, then watched my Cardinals beat the Philadelphia Phillies 2-0. Saturday brought an afternoon Cardinals game, this time a 4-1 Philly win, ribs at the fabulous Pappy’s Smokehouse, and the Frozen Four championship between Western Michigan and Boston University. Western won easily, 6-2, which makes me think that my Pioneers played the true championship game on Thursday.

We also were able to visit my wonderful aunt Ruth Peck, soon to be 91, at a memory care facility near Nathan’s house, and I was pleased that she immediately recognized me, though I hadn’t seen her in two years.

Nathan and I attended the Cardinals’ 7-0 shellacking of the Phillies Sunday, then caught the second half of the United Football League game between the St. Louis Battlehawks and the DC Defenders at The Dome at America’s Center, the former home of the St. Louis Rams.

We then raced to the airport, where I boarded a flight home.

Whew. What a weekend spent with my cousin, his wife, Becky, and, on Sunday, a few of his buddies. It was a whirlwind but a great time – parts of seven games in four days.

My brother, James, and I call Nathan “Mr. Game for Anything,” because he’ll travel far and wide to attend an event. “Hey, Nathan, Wyoming is playing at the University of Texas this fall. Want to join us?” “Sure! When is it?” And he’s Mr. St. Louis, knowing all of the best places to go, the back-street shortcuts and more.

Now, let’s just say that Nathan knows his way around the stadiums that result in street parking that might not quite be fully legal, but hey, it’s game night, so sometimes the meter watchers look the other way. It has certainly paid off for him over the years.

And assigned seats are just a suggestion. We would buy nosebleeds and move down into the lower bowl, except at the Battlehawks game since there were six of us. Watching hockey up close is a thrill. Man, can those guys skate. We joined the DU crowd on Thursday and had mostly Western Michigan fans around us Saturday as they dominated the crowd.

And the Cardinals games were truly fun. My team is in a rebuilding mode right now, and the crowds are down. But I have so much personal history and emotions tied up in the Cardinals from my father’s love of the Cards to now, it’s a joy any time I can catch them live. And yes, live professional baseball is the best. There’s a certain rhythm and stadium ambiance in baseball that other sports can’t match, at least in my opinion.

Thanks for a great weekend, Nathan. Can’t wait to do it again. Maybe Blues, Battlehawks and Cardinals the next time. Are you game for that, Nate?