Mother Nature is Not a Cardinals Fan

Martin Luther King weekend is always a big 3 days for Cardinals fans around the St. Louis region.  The Winter Warm Up (WWU for short) is the Cardinals version of a fan fest.  Starting in 1996, the Cardinals host a 3 day gathering where fans can get autographs from players, bid on various memorabilia in silent and live auctions, or browse the many vendors with baseball cards.  The Cardinals also have traveling Caravans during this weekend where a handful of current and former players travel to different cities for a short presentation followed up by an autograph session for kids. 

My family has been going to caravans since 2010 and the WWU since 2011.  We usually go the the caravan held in Champaign, IL.  It is a 2 hour drive, but it is held on a Friday afternoon when the crowd is small.  It is a free event and the kids can usually take a picture with the players.  We have met Matt Adams, Matt Carpenter, and Carlos Martinez at the caravans over the years.  This year Kolten Wong is scheduled to be at the Champaign stop starting at noon today.

If you are following the weather around St. Louis, there is a major ice storm expected this weekend.  With that in mind, the Cardinals cancelled all caravan stops for today and tomorrow.  I cannot blame them.  Snow is not bad to drive in, but ice is so unpredictable.  Needless to say my 8 year old son was not too thrilled to be going to school today instead of meeting Wong.  It was also announced this morning that day 1 of the WWU on Saturday is cancelled.  We had not planned on going until Sunday and Monday, so there is still some hope.  The ice/rain is expected to stop Sunday morning with temperatures rising during the day.  I have 2 autograph tickets for signings from 2-4, so my son's weekend may not be completely ruined.