They stood in line, a mix of adults, teens and children. Almost all wore a piece of St. Louis Cardinals attire — a baseball hat, T-shirt, sweatshirt, warm-up jacket.

They patiently waited. By the expectant looks on their faces, you would think they were going to see Santa Claus.

For most, it was something better. They were in line to take photos with the 2011 World Series Trophy, won by the Redbirds over the Texas Rangers.

It is part of the trophy tour presented by U.S. Cellular that eventually will make its way to 50 locations in Missouri, Illinois and Oklahoma. On Saturday, it was at the U.S. Cellular store, 2510 Lemay Ferry Road.

Sam Goodrum, 35, of Imperial, had traveled to the store after St. Louis resident and friend Kellee Baker told him of the trophy's appearance.

Baker took a photo of him standing next to the trophy.

"It's pretty awesome," he said. "We're huge Cardinals fans. I got to go to two World Series games."

Did he have fun?

"I did until I saw my credit card bill," said Goodrum with a laugh.

The trophy was attended by three handlers. Polite and helpful, they offered to use the fans' cell phones and digital cameras to take photos of them standing by trophy.

"This is about the fans," said Tom Selsor, one of the handlers. "People love the trophy. As Cardinals fans, they've earned a chance to see it."

The trophy's recent stop in Bridgeton brought out 600 people, he said.

Selsor and the other handlers also were protective of the trophy, like parents on their daughter's first date. They kept telling people over and over, "Don't touch it." It became a mantra for the day, especially when little kids looked like they were dying to reach over and touch it.

And it was easy to say why. For baseball fans, the trophy is absolutely beautiful.

It weighs 30 pounds, and stands two feet tall. It features 30 gold-plated flags, each representing a Major League baseball team. The flags stand in a circle around a segment of a baseball with latitude and longitude lines to symbolize the world.

Still, some of the younger kids, many of them barely more than toddlers, seemed a little bewildered by the hoopla. They were restless and wouldn't stand still next to the trophy.

"Smile!" a mother commanded her toddler, who just stared back. "C'mon, smile!"

Two other little boys couldn't smile simultaneously. Dad took photos several times, pleading with his boys to both smile together. One the fourth try, they got it. Dad led the way out of the store, looking a little frazzled.

Ballwin residents Ryan and Jan McCoy and their children, Braydon, 5, and Maggie, 4, posed next to it.

"Brayden just loves baseball," Jan said. "Don't you Brayden?"

The boy eagerly nodded.

Handler Joycelyn Shuh held their camera phone to take a family photo.

"Ready? One, two, three, say cheese!" Shuh said, then snapped. "Got it."

"Cheese" was another mantra during the day.

More people walked into the store. Their attention immediately was drawn to the rare sight of a World Series Trophy. Not many people who cheer for their teams get to see one.

"Don't touch!"

I said good-bye to the handlers and walked out to the parking lot. I looked over and — I swear I'm not making this up! — a cardinal sat on a nearby chain-link fence. Its red feathers and black mask stood out in the sunlight. The bird sat patiently, watching the commotion created by its human counterparts.