Yet, a lot of that will be forgotten by some Cardinals fans, after the slugger jetted the Show-Me State in favor of Southern California, signing a 10-year, $254 million contract on Thursday.
That move has left plenty of Cards fans feeling jilted. Shortly after the news broke, fans of the defending World Series champs grabbed their Pujols garb, a can of gasoline and a book of matches and took to the streets to have themselves a little fire.
It's not unlike the reception that followed when LeBron James informed a national TV audience that he was indeed leaving his home state of Ohio and the Cavaliers to for greener pastures (and whiter beaches) to join the Miami Heat.
Naturally, Pujols' departure is being compared to James' through a variety of lenses. Everyone has an opinion, but the one thing that's clear is that neither are very popular anymore in the cities they "abandoned."
Of course, it has to be noted that Pujols did leave after delivering two world titles while James left Cleveland with, well, nothing. That said, do Cardinals fans have the right to be upset as those fans in Cleveland?
Do St. Louis fans have the right to be as upset as Cleveland fans?
Screen shot from YouTube.
