2026 has been a very interesting year for the St. Louis Cardinals. They entered a rebuild, but performed better than expected for quite some time, even staying afloat in the playoff race. But perhaps the highlight of the season came in late May when the Stephen F. Austin club baseball team came to Busch Stadium and started the “tarps off” movement, which spread like wildfire around Major League Baseball stadiums.
From that point on, a section has been reserved at Busch Stadium for fans to rip off their shirts and wave them around like towels out in right field. On Tuesday, the Cardinals announced that for their final home series of the season, the original tarps off crew will be back in town.
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St. Louis Cardinals Announce Return of ‘Tarps Off’ Crew
Even though the Cardinals are rebuilding, 2026 has been a fun year for the fanbase. They’ve had a chance to see some of their young players take major steps forward. JJ Wetherholt is a National League Rookie of the Year candidate, Jordan Walker broke out and even won the Home Run Derby, and Ivan Herrera and Riley O’Brien were even All-Stars along with Walker.
There have been a lot of positives to take away from this season. However, the most enjoyable part for a lot of fans has been the tarps off movement. Busch Stadium had been nearly empty for a lot of games over the past two seasons, and though attendance is still relatively low by St. Louis standards, the tarps off crew brought a little excitement back to the stadium. They made the ballpark fun again for a lot of fans, and it was also a reminder of all that is good in the world.
Baseball is meant to be fun for everybody, but having a whole group of fans take over a section and start this movement made it even better. This was a classic case of fans cutting loose and simply enjoying themselves in the best way they know how, adding some much-needed excitement and humor to the ballpark atmosphere in St. Louis.
After a win against the Kansas City Royals the first time the crew showed up, manager Oli Marmol bought out the section for them to attend the next game.
So, while the Cardinals likely won’t make the playoffs, 2026 is far from a lost year, simply because the mood has been lightened after three trying seasons.
Tarps off in St. Louis one last time
The Cardinals will face the Washington Nationals in their final series at Busch Stadium. The stadium should be a little more packed this weekend as the Cardinals close out their home slate of games before their final road trip.
Barring a trip to the postseason, this will be the final time the original tarps off crew comes to St. Louis in 2026, but it certainly will create a little more entertainment and fun for the last home series at Busch Stadium.
The emergence of the tarps off crew will certainly be considered one of the highlights from 2026.
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