Cardinals Fans' Attendance Trending Downward; Is It Time To Make Drastic Changes?

St. Louis is losing its beloved fans

Jun 9, 2024; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; St. Louis Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol (37) shares a laugh in the dugout before the game against the Colorado Rockies at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Tim Vizer-USA TODAY Sports / Tim Vizer-USA TODAY Sports

The St. Louis Cardinals could be headed for an organization-altering offseason if they can't get things together and make a legitimate push for the playoffs before it's too late.

Last season's embarrassing 71-91 record was the Cardinals' worst performance in 33 years and fans were hopeful that 2024 would be much different.

Despite being on track to finish with a better record than 2023, St. Louis isn't the team loyal Cardinals fans are used to rooting for. The organization needs to do something soon or it's looking at having a lot of empty seats in the stands going forward.

Attendance at Busch Stadium this season has reached the lowest point of Cardinals president of baseball operations John Mozeliak's tenure with the organization. For a franchise known for its diehard fan base, it's shocking to see St. Louis rank No. 6 in the league with only an average of 37,006 fans attending every game -- last year's team placed No. 4 with 40,013 attendees.

When Mozleliak first took over as POBO in 2017, the Cardinals garnered roughly 42,567 fans to attend every game. Only the Los Angeles Dodgers had a larger attendance average than St. Louis that season.

It's evident that Cardinals fans are unhappy with their favorite team and that won't change until St. Louis returns to playing the "Cardinal Way", which entails winning, of course.

Some want Cardinals manager Oli Marmol replaced and others want POBO to retire one year early as his contract expires after 2025. It's unlikely St. Louis will move on from Marmol as he's signed through 2026 but perhaps this season could prove to be his final straw.

Both scenarios could happen this winter depending on how the rest of the season goes. One thing's for certain -- if dedicated St. Louis fans aren't attending, there's probably a major cause for concern that needs to be addressed.

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