State senator from KC slams bill to make Cardinals official baseball team of Missouri

Missouri State Rep. Courtney Curtis got what he wanted: Attention.

Curtis has introduced a bill (HB 2831) that “Designates the St. Louis Cardinals as the official baseball team of Missouri.”

The state already has an official bird (Eastern bluebird), song (“Missouri Waltz”), insect (honey bee), mineral (galena) and many other designations.

The proposed bill says: “The St. Louis Cardinals, which can trace its history in Missouri back to 1882, are selected for and shall be known as the official baseball team of the state of Missouri.”

Missouri Sen. Ryan Silvey of Kansas City rolled his eyes when he learned of the bill.

“I’ve told people it’s cute,” said Silvey, who lives north of the river. “It’s like a fifth grader trying to dunk a basketball.

“He’s clearly just trying to get attention for himself back home.”

Mission accomplished. The story of the bill has been popular on social media. Curtis, who is from Ferguson, posted a poll on his Twitter account asking whether the Royals or Cardinals should be the official team of Missouri. At 11 a.m. on Thursday, more than a thousand people had voted and the Royals had 95 percent of the vote.

Silvey said the Legislature has far more important issues to deal with than a Cardinals’ designation.

“I don’t think anyone in Jefferson City is taking that seriously,” Silvey said. “I would be surprised and disappointed if either body of the Legislature took time talking about that. We’ve got far more important issues to be dealing with.”

This story was originally published March 24, 2016 at 11:07 AM.