The Towel Man cometh.

“Someway I'd get in,” Ron Baechle said, “Even if I'd have to pull off an Inspector Clouseau and come in as a worker or something.”

His shoulder shoulders. There is a responsibility to being The Towel Man at Blues games, and for decades, Baechle's steady right shoulder and arm have whipped white towels after goals. He's as much a fixture at Blues games as Jeremy Boyer's organ-playing or, I suppose, the actual Blues playing.

But even some of the Blues' biggest fans won't be able to get into Monday's Winter Classic. So I wondered (worried, really) whether the Towel Man would be there.

And yes, Baechle will be in Section 339 with sport’s most-famous towel west of Pittsburgh.

“It's up from the first base, between first base and the outfield,” he said. “It's all about being part of the excitement. It's always fun when you score – it's even better when you get to lead a chant or a cheer.

"Every year you see the Winter Classic, and you wonder if you'll ever get to be a part of it.”

As it reads on the back of Baechle's trading card, which he shares with fans: