Cardinals Fans Behind Viral 'Tarps Off' Trend vs. Royals Unmasked

The St. Louis Cardinals had themselves a wild night on Friday.

Sep 5, 2023; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; A detailed view of the hat and glove of St. Louis Cardinals second baseman Nolan Gorman (not pictured) before a game against the Atlanta Braves at Truist Park. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images | Brett Davis-Imagn Images

If you were at Busch Stadium on Friday night — or just watched the St. Louis Cardinals and Kansas City Royals' contest on television — you saw a party out in the right field.

Late in the contest, fans in right field began taking their shirts off and waving them around their head.

pic.twitter.com/VyUd0FHUV7

— cardinalsgifs (@cardinalsgifs) May 16, 2026

As the game progressed into extra innings, the fans started to spread out.

They’ve spread into multiple sections! https://t.co/VPyMxPgQHy pic.twitter.com/YYow5mKuPf

— Benjamin Hochman (@hochman) May 16, 2026

This is gonna become a “thing”, isn’t it? pic.twitter.com/RMBFw4XoJP

— Brandon Kiley (@BKSportsTalk) May 16, 2026

The Cardinals clearly noticed as the official X account even acknowledged them as the club kept the contest going in the 10th inning.

What A Night

Feb 26, 2021; Jupiter, Florida, USA; A general view of the St. Louis Cardinals logo on the stadium at Roger Dean Stadium during spring training workouts. Mandatory Credit: Jasen Vinlove-Imagn Images | Jasen Vinlove-Imagn Images

NO SHIRT, NO PROBLEM pic.twitter.com/Lw9AwsgD8U

— St. Louis Cardinals (@Cardinals) May 16, 2026

Then, the club followed up with another reference after Yohel Pozo walked it off for the Cardinals with a single to right field in the 11th inning.

TAKE YOUR SHIRT OFF
TWIST IT 'ROUND YOUR HEAD
SPIN IT LIKE A HELICOPTER pic.twitter.com/TyucFEOmS9

— St. Louis Cardinals (@Cardinals) May 16, 2026

All in all, it was a wild contest over at Busch Stadium. But who started the trend? The Stephen F. Austin club baseball team made that claim.

"Hi everyone, I'm Bryce Bradford and I'm part of the SFA baseball club team and we started the shirtless crew at the St. Louis Cardinals game and I just wanted to thank y'all so much for having us out. We had a great time. Let's go."

Appears we’ve found the people behind the magic: Stephen F. Austin’s club baseball team (now known as @TARPSOFFatBUSCH) https://t.co/YqRZWEko4A pic.twitter.com/7nI1Py2XSH

— Grace Ybarra (@gnybarra) May 16, 2026

There certainly was some energy at the ballpark on Friday night. So much so that Cardinals manager Oli Marmol said he'd do whatever he can to get them back.

"Whoever started that in right field, I'll do whatever I need to do to make sure they come every game," Marmol said. "Because that was awesome. Not only them, but everybody who showed up today. That was a fun environment."

The early season has been fun for the Cardinals, but it was different on Friday night. The young Cardinals earned their 26th win of the season on May 15. In the game game in which the fans were rowdy and loud, Jordan Walker blasted his 13th homer of the season, Nolan Gorman got two hits and Dustin May allowed just three runs across six innings pitched. What else could you ask for? It was a story over the last few years about how attendance was down and the fanbase was sending a clear message to ownership.

This season, things have been different. The fans and energy are back at Busch Stadium and the Cardinals are feeding off it. This team is fun and different from what we saw over the last three years. Hopefully, they can keep it up.