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The USA Today article on Pujols, which fairly goofily hinted that the ASG may be " the prelude to his farewell" since his contract is up in 2011, made me think.

Would/could I still be a fan of this team if we don't get him an extension he left as a free agent after 2011? I love this team, born and intend to die a Cardinals fan. But it's hard to put into words how much my fandom is tied up in what Pujols is doing, in all facets of the game. It would burn me up inside if we let him go. But how much? And to what end?

Hence the poll. I'm curious. I'm not even sure what my answer is yet.

I'd be extremely upset and would probably not be nearly as passionate about baseball as I am now, but I would still have to put the team first.

That being said, I'd be rooting for him everytime he didn't play the Cards.

I'd vote for option 1 and 2, if I could.

no. i've been a fan for 32 years and if they let him go i'm done with baseball

Need a 4th option: All of the above.

I'd definitely still be a Cardinal fan but I would be very dissapointed depending on the circumstances. They should do whatever they have to do to sign Pujols.

Whether it is the amount of money he wants or the amount of money spent to surround him with a decent team, there is no acceptable excuse for letting him go. If he's gone, I'm gone. I'd probably still follow the team's progress here and there but I wouldn't be buying any more merchandise or paying to see them play. The only reason I could forgive the Cardinals is if Pujols makes it clear he wants to leave for reasons beyond control (bigger market, more exposure, etc.).

Pujols made me a baseball fan so if he's gone, [expletive].

I'd probably be back to what Iwas as a fan in the middle 90s - I'd watch a game every now and then, but not really have much emotional investment with the team.

If he leaves for more money, then I wouldn't spend another penny until DeWitt sold the team.

But, I can't stop being a Cardinals fan no matter what. I would hope most of you are the same.

I would lose a lot of passion for the game. I'd probably knock baseball down from the top spot to third behind Soccer and basketball in my pantheon of sports priorities.