About 200 miles down the Mississippi from St. Louis, the town of Wingo, Ky. (pop. 641), is still Cardinals country. Even if it were not, resident Jim Easterwood would follow the Redbirds ardently, as he has since age 10. He listened on the radio as Pesky held the ball and Slaughter made him pay for it when the Cards beat the Red Sox in the 1946 World Series.
The retired Star-Bulletin sportswriter has yet to meet Kolten Wong, but gets the same sense many do that the five-year contract extension reportedly valued at $25.5 million he recently signed won’t make him complacent.
“Oh yeah, I’m a fan of his and I think he’s primed for a great year,” Easterwood said of the Big Island and University of Hawaii product. “I think he’ll do his best to live up to it.”
When it was determined in January that the St. Louis Rams would return to Los Angeles, a metropolitan area of around 3 million people and the surrounding countryside was left without an NFL team.
Some uninformed early speculation had it that the abandoned fans would latch onto the Chicago Bears. But that’s like assuming if USC no longer existed its followers would immediately love all things UCLA. When it comes to sports rivalries, the convenience of geography rarely trumps a history of loathing.
Wingo is about 160 miles west of Nashville, Tenn., home of the Titans.
“This area was kind of considered middle ground for football,” Easterwood said. “I don’t think anyone hates the Titans, so former Rams fans maybe will take a look around and find a team like that. The Bears? No way.”
It makes sense, even though Tennessee is coming off a 3-13 record. It can be fun to jump on a bandwagon while it’s still in the shop being repaired, especially if there’s reason to expect drastic improvement led by a charismatic star.
Easterwood said he follows the Titans “because of the local kid.” And when he worked in Hawaii he covered Marcus Mariota’s quarterback coach at Saint Louis School, Vinny Passas — as a high school player, in the first Prep Bowl.
Like Mariota, Wong appeals to people in the region because he reflects their sensibilities of hard work and humility.
“He’s a popular player with the fans. They love him because they can tell he’s going to get better and better through consistent effort,” Easterwood said.
Easterwood said he wasn’t among those who thought Wong being left out of the All-Star Game last year was a blatantly incorrect omission.
“He was a little upset about it. But the fans around St. Louis? Not so much. I don’t think he deserved it, because he faded after a hot start,” Easterwood said. “But I think it just makes him more motivated to make it this year. He’s just got to hit left-handed pitchers better. I’d like to see Wong as the leadoff man.”
Shane Victorino signed with the Chicago Cubs last week, adding some island spice to what has always been one of baseball’s two or three most heated rivalries.
“Everybody’s giving the World Series to the Cubs already,” Easterwood said. “The Cardinals are going to have something to say about it, especially if Wong has the kind of year I think he will.”
Reach Dave Reardon at dreardon@staradvertiser.com or 529-4783. His blog is at Hawaiiwarriorworld.com/quick-reads
