Bernie Show: Will Cardinals fans return?

Fans of the St. Louis Cardinals have nothing to apologize for. Despite another season of missing the playoffs, the Cards franchise continues to sell home-game tickets at a level that many MLB teams can only dream. St. Louis ranked 7th in the majors in tickets sold per home game in 2024 -- and averaged more tickets sold per home game than seven teams that competed in the postseason: Astros, Brewers, Mets, Orioles, Guardians, Tigers, and Royals.

The highly visible number of no-shows at Busch Stadium this season represented a form of protest by a strong fan base that's frustrated by a downturn that has led to the Cardinals making the postseason only three times over the last eight seasons.

The fan base continues to pour money into the franchise ... but just because they've remained loyal through their financial support and the flow of revenue, it doesn't mean they are obligated to actually attend games. And the frustration with the recent trends -- and the anger over the men that are running the franchise and allowed the on-field success to fade -- prompted more and more fans to avoid Busch Stadium this past season ... even after paying for tickets.

Here's what Cardinals ownership-management needs to understand and fully grasp: once you give a loyal fan base a reason to turn their backs on you, it doesn't mean it will be easy to get them back. This has been proven time and time again in other markets. In this video, I give examples of MLB franchises that are winning again and providing highly entertaining baseball -- only to rank well below average in home-game ticket sales. The Cardinals must confront this reality and work extremely hard to rebuild the team -- but also rebuild the fan-base trust and loyalty that's been damaged.