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There were so many fans walking around, I felt squished at times, while tiptoeing and sidestepping to get around the oncoming red masses. And you know what? It felt welcoming. It felt at home. It felt right. This was Busch Stadium like it oughta be — a packed house on a sunny Sunday.

It wasn’t supposed to be this way. Remember April? The “transitioning” Redbirds drew crowd totals of 20,309 and 21,206 and 21,977, among others in the 20,000-range. But manager Oliver Marmol and his cast of scrappy kids are ready for primetime. And ӣ����Ƶ has responded the way ӣ����Ƶ does: by coming downtown and by buying a bunch of beer.

“Busch felt like Busch — our guys feed off of that,” Marmol said after Sunday’s game.

Sunday’s crowd was announced at 42,255, second-highest only to opening day (47,395). And Friday’s crowd was the third-largest at 40,071 (with a 37,465 total wedged in between on Saturday). Yes, of course, the opponent was the defending-champion Dodgers, who feature an international sports superstar. But people also came to the Cards’ recent home weekend series against Arizona (an average of 36,010).

The Cardinals saved the summer.

They are one of baseball’s delightful surprises.

They entered Sunday with baseball’s best winning percentage and win total since May 4.

And even with Sunday’s loss to Los Angeles, the Cards (36-29) still won the series and sit just four games back of the first place Cubbies. And the Brewers are in the National Central mix, too — sure enough, later this June, the Cards have four at Milwaukee and four at home against the Cubs (imagine the crowds for those games).

And what’s cool about the young Cardinals is that each dude has his own persona. It’s like a boy band from early 2000s. Or the Spice Girls. There’s the showman Masyn Winn, with his flashy jewelry and flashed leather (he entered Sunday hitting .349 in his past 10 games — and drove in a run with a hit in Sunday’s 7-3 defeat). There’s the dirtbag Brendan Donovan with his flowing mane, facial hair and mahogany-caked uniform (he went 2 for 5 and is sitting at .317 on the season). There’s the goofy but hard-hitting Ivan Herrera (2 for 4 including a torched double), who even has the dyed blond streaks in his hair, a la a Backstreet Boy. And there’s the larger-than-life Jordan Walker, who before his injury was demolishing baseballs with an otherworldly force.

And even though he’s slumping, Victor Scott II still brings an element of speed and pizzaz to the lineup and center field — he’s fourth in the NL with 17 stolen bases (and was only caught stealing once). And Scott is responsible for the word that best describes the 2025 Cardinals — yet isn’t even a word. Trying to say the players are youthful and hungry, the 24-year-old outfielder said: “yungry.” It’s now on T-shirts.

And the fans sure seem into this brand of baseball. And the winning. Of course, you could have nine Ty Wiggintons out there, but if the team is winning, people will come to be entertained. And to be part of something. And that’s what this is at Busch — a gathering of people who want to relive the old days while creating the new days simultaneously. They’re loud doing it. The Cardinals hear them.

“Gosh, our guys love playing here for that reason — when it’s full, it’s fun …” Marmol said. “The environment was awesome. It was extremely competitive (baseball), like just everybody was into it. (And there was a) decent amount of their fans here as well — one of the more respected and well-followed teams.”

Marmol has been masterful so far. He presses the right button so often — as seen in recent wins against Kansas City and Los Angeles. Specifically with pitching, Marmol and pitching coach Dusty Blake have nurtured one heck of a bullpen. Yes, Ryan Fernandez was a dud this season. But since Fernandez was sent down on April 24, the Cardinals have the fifth-best bullpen ERA in all of baseball (3.10). In fact, when John King allowed a homer Sunday to Mookie Betts, it was just the 15th round-tripper allowed by a Redbird reliever. The Cards entered the day with the fewest allowed in baseball.

The Cardinals’ success has been enjoyable to witness — a relentless style, putting pressure on opponents with long at-bats and aggressive baserunning. And the fans are making the Cardinals part of their summer plans, even if those plans are now last-minute.