On Nov. 20, the St. Louis Blues fell 3-2 in overtime against the Philadelphia Flyers at Xfinity Mobile Arena in South Philadelphia, Pa. After taking a two-goal lead over the Flyers in the first period, the Blues ultimately fell apart, allowing the Flyers to tie it up at two goals. Philadelphia defenseman Travis Sanheim fired the winning goal past St. Louis’ goalie Joel Hofer, handing the Blues their fourth loss in a row.

On the other hand, the St. Louis Cardinals ended their season with a six–game losing streak, losing three games to the San Francisco Giants between Sept. 22-24, and then three more to the Chicago Cubs between Sept. 26-28. The most notable, however, was their 12-1 loss to the Cubs on Sept. 26. With a lack of both offense and defense, Cardinals fans watched a game that demonstrated a loss of club identity.

The disappointing team cultures and records are affecting everyone in the St. Louis community. In a school filled with students who grew up around these teams, watching this struggle hits everyone deeply, especially the people who have been lifelong fans. With the same pride we have in our own school sports teams, we share this pride for these professional teams. 

The St. Louis Blues

Currently active, the St. Louis Blues kicked the 2025-2026 season off on Oct. 9 against the Minnesota Wild. Being both the season and home opener, the expectations and excitement were through the roof at Enterprise Center in St. Louis, Mo. The expectation for this squad was set high due to the second half of the previous season. The end of the 2024-2025 season far exceeded expectations for the Blues, as they went on a franchise record with a 12-game win streak. This streak earned the Blues a playoff spot, the first time since the 2021-2022 season. Being the last-seeded team, they had to take on the number one team in hockey, the Winnipeg Jets. They played them in a winner-takes-all game back in April. Unfortunately, the Blues’ season ultimately ended in double overtime, but many fans still saw this as a huge improvement and set higher expectations for the team going into this season.

Senior Tyler Smith’s dad is a team physician for the Blues. Smith has been at Enterprise Center on many occasions, watching Blues games throughout his life and has met numerous players.

“We took Winnipeg to seven games and had all that confidence at the end of last season. It seemed like some sort of special bond [or] spark in that group,” Smith said. “Watching them play this year, there’s no fight and no heart, [which is] nothing like what we saw last year.”

Unfortunately, whatever confidence came from this miracle ending did not transfer to the beginning of this season. The Blues currently sit 27th out of 32 teams in the National Hockey League (NHL). Caught in the middle of an identity crisis, they are desperately trying to fit the puzzle pieces to make a competitive team. Blues goalies Jordan Binnington and Joel Hofer, who have both been seen as top goalies in the past, have been majorly underperforming through the first quarter of the season. 

The team’s goal-scoring ability has also lacked, as evidenced by their -27 goal differential. Core players like Robert Thomas, Jordan Kyrou and Pavel Buchnevich have all underperformed to start the season. These players received heavy criticism from fans, especially in the comments section on the Blues’ Instagram and Twitter pages. Buchnevich, who is one of the highest-paid wingers on the team, making $8 million a year, has only tallied four goals through the first quarter of the season—numbers that are unexpected for a high-salary player. Kyrou was benched in a matchup against the Buffalo Sabres earlier in the season on Nov. 6, which sparked social media backlash against Kyrou.

Fan-favorite and top-six forward Zack Bolduc was traded to the Montreal Canadiens in July of 2025, which came as a shock for many fans who had been impressed with his development and goal-scoring ability. In return, the Blues received young defenseman Logan Mailloux, whose disappointing play got him sent to the minor league, which has many fans claiming that the Blues got “robbed” in this trade. 

Junior Sam Mouser has spent most of his life as a die-hard Blues fan. Mouser attended the Blues’ matchup against the Philadelphia Flyers on Nov. 14, where they lost in a shootout.

“It’s not good for team morale for [Thomas, Kyrou, and Buchnevich] to underperform. They’re older and leaders on the team, and need to step it up,” Mouser said. “It’s hard to keep watching this team lose every night. It’s sad to watch, especially after the ending of last season. We’ve seen droughts like this before, and they have been able to turn it around, so we are all [hoping] for that to [happen].”

The only light that Blues fans have seen this season has been young rookies Jimmy Snuggerud and Dalibor Dvorsky. Snuggerud, who sits 11th in points among all NHL rookies, and Dvorsky, who has quickly tallied three goals since being called up on Oct. 30, are the only two players who can consistently produce on this team. Unfortunately for the Blues, bad luck will continue as Snuggerud will undergo wrist surgery and will be out long-term. Depth forwards Alexey Toropchenko and Nathan Walker will also sit out due to injuries. The Blues have been forced to dip into their minor league affiliate, the Springfield Thunderbirds and call up forward Aleksanteri Kaskimiki. Kaskimiki made his debut on Dec. 4 against the Boston Bruins.

Desperate for wins, the Blues don’t have much time before a playoff berth becomes impossible.

“[Snuggerud and Dvorsky] are the only reason I still watch [Blues] games at this point,” Smith said. “Those two are great pieces to the team, and are basically carrying them at this point. It’s not good to have to rely on two rookies though; [the veterans] need to step up.”

The St. Louis Cardinals

The St. Louis Cardinals are one of the most respected ball clubs in the MLB, and sit second in all-time World Series wins with 11, trailing only the New York Yankees. The Cardinals have given the city of St. Louis plenty of unforgettable memories in the early 2010s, but it’s apparent that, as of now, this team is just a shell of what it once was. With plenty of losses to account for and no real playoff berth since an unfortunate loss in the 2022 NL Wild Card Series against the Philadelphia Phillies, the city and team are desperate to regain the kind of success they once saw from this club.

Avid baseball fan and English teacher Kaleb Schumer played high school baseball at Lutheran South. Schumer is a Boston Red Sox fan with an outside perspective on the team.

“It seems to the rest of the league that the Cardinals are currently a rebuilding team [that] refuses to admit it,” Schumer said. “If they want to reward the city for their support over the past decades, they need to adapt to the new style of baseball that they refuse to evolve to.”

Fans had high expectations of a comeback after a year of training and front office moves, which should have improved the team. However, they still finished the season with a 78-84 record, placing them in fourth in the National League Central, causing them to miss the playoffs for the third season in a row. Young star Masyn Winn suffered an injury that ended his season and left only hopes of his return by the 2026 spring training.

 In July of 2025, Ryan Helsley was traded to the New York Mets. This was an unfortunate trade because Helsley was one of the best relievers on the team. Recording a dominant 49 saves with the Cardinals, Helsley was evidently a reliable player. However, with his contract ending, it was necessary to trade for new prospects who could rebuild the team. 

Most recently, Sonny Gray was traded to the Red Sox on Nov. 25 in return for two young pitching prospects. The Cardinals sent $20 million to help cover salary costs. A reliable veteran, Gray was one of the Cardinals’ most prized pitchers and a fan favorite due to his high performance levels. All in all, it was a very disappointing summer for the Cardinals fans, and it’s clear that this team has no real direction on where it’s heading.

“I’ve been a Cardinals fan my entire life. I’ve always liked watching sports and baseball, and [the Cardinals] have always been my favorite to watch,” senior Henry George said. “This season has been antagonizing, infuriating, and disappointing to watch. It hurts my soul to see them struggle this much.”

With increasing losses, Busch Stadium in St. Louis became emptier as more games were played. On Sept. 2, Busch Stadium contained 17,002 fans at the Cardinals matchup against the Oakland Athletics, breaking the previous record low of 17,675, which was set only one month earlier on Aug. 25. For the first time in the history of Busch Stadium III, attendance dropped to under 20,000 for a Cardinals game. Not only is this hurting the Cardinals organization, but also hurting the city itself. People aren’t spending money downtown, and it’s hurting businesses. In the area surrounding Busch Stadium, primarily filled with restaurants and other businesses, there was a drop of $50 million in sales from last year. The pit that the Cardinals find themselves in is starting to affect more than just baseball.

As Blues and Cardinals fans continue to watch games, they are left to wonder whether the teams’ original playing mentality and identity will return. Professional sports in St. Louis seem to be taking a turn for the worse, and fans can only wait and see what new changes will come.