Here’s an amazing tidbit. The St. Louis Blues play a game tonight, at Scottrade center against the Minnesota Wild.

As the Blues embark on another hopefully thrilling season, there’s obviously good reason to be excited. This young team has high expectations, and they should. But to me, there’s more to the Blues than just the team. After bottoming out after the lockout, the franchise has done EVERYTHING possible to connect with it’s fans and the community.

John Davidson is a sensational spokesman for the organization, who will honestly lay out the plans for the team whenever asked. Andy Murray is a convincing coach who, even when presented with tough questions, answers with conviction and reason. The franchise has made a concerted effort to include youth hockey in their day-to-day existence. And the behind the scenes people of the Blues, from the Public Relations staff to marketing and sales, are extraordinarily helpful and cater to the needs of their customers and partners.

For that reason, this is a franchise that’s easy to root for. They have a FANfest coming up on Saturday. It would be a smart move to stop by and check out a franchise that’s experiencing a fantastic renaissance.