For the residents of St. Louis and Cardinals fans everywhere, today is essentially an official holiday. Today is the Cardinals Home Opener. In other words, today is the beginning of the best seven months of the year. I am feeling especially sentimental as I am unable to be in St. Louis for this year’s Home Opener. For this reason, I wanted to write a list of 11 things that only Cardinals fans will appreciate.

1. The Cardinals success

Well, to start it off, let's admit that one of the best parts about being a Cardinals fan is that they are always good. The team dynamic changes year after year, but they still manage to make it to the playoffs. Cardinals’ fans rally behind whoever may be on our team that year and loyally follow them until the end.

2. Being the "best fans in baseball"

Google "best fans in baseball"—you'll find us. Cardinals fans fill Busch Stadium every single game, from April to October. Not only that, but for the most part, we typically avoid unnecessary rude competitiveness. I have lost track of the number of times I’ve told someone from Chicago that I was from St. Louis, and they automatically replied with, “Ugh—F*** St. Louis.” Aw, thank you for those kind words, Cubs fan! On the other hand, on numerous occasions, I have seen witnessed a Cardinals fan high-five an individual reppin’ the opposing team at a game.

3. The sea of red

The moment you leave your car, you are immediately immersed in the Cardinals environment, and there is simply no better feeling. Everyone there is just genuinely happy to be surrounded by fellow Cardinals fans and to be apart of the "sea of red."

4. Yadi

What can I say? Yadier Molina has been on the Cardinals team for over 10 years; he is a fan favorite and an essential part of the team. His defense simply never ceases to amaze.

5. The Clydesdales

It is a pretty special experience when the Clydesdales come out at Cardinals games. Regardless of whether you like Budweiser or not, you cannot deny that their mascot is pretty tight.

6. The pitching

The Cardinals pitchers are a crucial element to the team’s success. No matter who is up on the mound that day, whether it’s our ace Wainwright or his apprentice Wacha, the pitching is typically super on point.

7. Fredbird

The majority of sports teams’ mascots are intrinsically creepy. Let’s admit it. However, Fredbird somehow isn’t. All he ever does is dance around and throw T-shirts. You can’t hate that.

8. Ballpark Village

Ballpark Village is absolutely unreal. Whether it’s for Game 6 of the World Series, the Stanley Cup playoffs or the final game of the Women’s World Cup, the energy in Ballpark Village is electric.

9. Waiting until the last strike

We all love the Cardinals, but there is no doubt that they make us sweat a little bit. I’m fairly certain I’m going to drop dead one of these days out of pure anxiety from watching the Cardinals. At least we can say they always keep it interesting! Cardinals fans know never to throw in the towel early because anything can happen—let us just take a minute to remember Game 6 of the 2011 World Series.

10. The bricks

If you’re family has a brick outside of Busch Stadium, you most definitely can relate to spending an aggressive amount of time trying to find it before going into the stadium. All the while you are saying, “It’s here somewhere.”

11. St. Louis

Cardinals’ fans hold a deep appreciation and love for St. Louis. To be honest, it’s more of an obsession. No matter what anyone says about our city, we will always know how amazing of a place it is. And no matter where life takes us, we will always love St. Louis, and we will always root for the Cardinals.