St. Louis Cardinals fans have a long and storied history… of taking a spontaneous moment and making it a season long bit.

Let’s remember some of the more recent ones before we explain how 2026 is going to be a summer of naked torsos.

Rally Cat.

Rally Squirrel.

Happy Flight.

We’re going, going, going to win the World Series.

Or how about these chestnuts?

• Torty Craig
• Mojo Salsa
• The Pepper Grinder
• The Shredder (where Kyle Kyle McClellan starting ripping off jerseys)

I’m sure I’m forgetting a couple. But over the weekend, the BFIB (best fans in baseball) popped their tops and created a new trend that seems to have some legs called ‘Tarps Off’.

The term isn’t new. The first post for it in Urban Dictionary dates back to 2012.

But in Busch Stadium III – whose atmosphere could be generously described the past couple of years as muted – Friday was a revelation. Saturday was the start of a trend. People were (gasp!) having fun while standing and cheering.

If you want the whole story, Ben Hochman of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch did the work.

The TL;DR? It looks like it’s going to be a shirtless summer in St. Louis. There’s officially a new craze.