Not Quite a Fan of the Stan the Man Span

     If you live in or around my hometown of St. Louis, you surely know by now of the latest effort to honor the memory and legacy of the great St. Louis Cardinal Stan Musial, who died this past weekend at age 92.  A local radio station, via a petition drive, and a Missouri lawmaker, via proposed legislation, are calling for the new bridge over the Mississippi River linking Missouri and Illinois at downtown St. Louis - a bridge currently under construction - to be named The Stan Musial Bridge (or a flavor thereof).
       Some are calling it, "The Stan the Man Span"

       At the risk of being the contrarian, fly-in-the-punch bowl, "no fun" guy, and being labeled a traitor to Cardinal Nation, it seems to me there's a lot of rhyme, but not as much reason behind the whole idea.  

      If naming a bridge for the greatest Cardinal ever and one of the best performers at his craft is the way St. Louisans want to remember Stan the Man, I certainly won't lose any sleep over it.  But here are some things to think about before we dive headfirst toward home plate on this idea.

      First, "naming" roadways just doesn't appear to be our thing in St. Louis.  Drive around Chicago enough and you will soon learn the intricacies of the Dan Ryan, the outbound Ike and the southbound Stevenson  interstates. And -- if you are strong willed enough to handle it - take a drive through New York City sometime to experience the thrill and excitement of navigating the Van Wyck on an empty stomach.   True, two of our bridges over the Mississippi are named MacArthur and MLK - for the U.S. general and the civil rights leader, but then again, our most heavily used bridge, the Poplar Street Bridge, is actually named for a former mayor.  And really, who ever calls it the Mayor Bernard F. Dickmann bridge?  

       Naming roadways for sports icons hasn't exactly been our strongest suit either.  Who will recall that, for a time, a section of Interstate 70 was named the "Mark McGwire Highway"?  And how many know today that a portion of Interstate 64 is known as the "Jack Buck Highway"?  Jack Buck was a tremendous broadcaster and wonderful man, but naming a stretch of highway after him?  Pardon me while I stand, and look for the connection. 

      It seems to me that naming the Span for Stan is a nice feel-good thing to do, and certainly it will provide for a sweet and sentimental dedication ceremony if and when it happens.  But then what?  Years from now, when the events of this week have faded, will it be, "Hey honey, don't wait up for me, traffic on the Musial is all backed up again!?"   Do we really want our city's greatest sports hero's name uttered in derision by out-of-town drivers and younger local motorists who don't know what The Man meant to St. Louis?   Do we really want to hear local traffic reporters warn us that, "the Musial is a mess this morning, traffic is backed up on the Musial, best to stay away from the Musial"?  

      As I say, I won't lose any sleep over the idea of naming the new bridge for Stan.  But my own suggestion is this:  let's keep the honors closer to where Stan Musial excelled, honed his craft and thrilled generations of fans -- on the playing field.   Some have suggested the wonderfully appropriate and elegant gesture of having all Cardinals players wear Stan's Number 6 on vintage 1940's era jerseys for this year's home opener, and subsequent home openers in years to come.  Others have offered up the intriguing idea of naming the actual "grounds" at the Cardinals' ballpark, "Musial Field at Busch Stadium."
       Let's think this one over.  The best place to honor Stan Musial is not on a concrete slab, where harried pedal-to-the-metal drivers fail to absorb the significance of the name "Musial" as they fiddle with their smart phones, dial-punch their radios and curse at the guy  who just cut them off in the center lane.
        Clearly the best place to honor Stan is within the pastoral confines of the ballpark, the place where he excelled.  A place where mom and dad and grandma and grandpa can share their stories of The Man with those of the next generation, preferably on a warm and sunny Sunday afternoon.

         Thanks for reading.  As always, your constructive feedback is welcomed.