Gary Cohen surprised by desolated St. Louis: It’s like a ‘neutron bomb’ hit

Gary Cohen doesn’t appear to like St. Louis very much, but the people of St. Louis might dislike him even more after his latest quip.

During the New York Mets 2-1 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals on Wednesday afternoon, SNY shared a live camera shot of the Kiener Memorial Fountain and Runner Statue with the famous Gateway Arch in the background. The image prompted Mets play-by-play voice Gary Cohen to take note of the lack of people in the area.

In defense of St. Louis, a Wednesday afternoon in early April isn’t exactly primetime for a lot of foot traffic. But according to Cohen, it wasn’t just Wednesday afternoon; St. Louis always seems desolate.

“There’s never anybody walking around in downtown St. Louis. Remember the old neutron bomb that wouldn’t knock down buildings but just would eliminate all the people? It’s like one of those hit St. Louis” – Gary Cohen pic.twitter.com/ULkU6aSEKJ

— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) April 2, 2026

“The only thing missing from that picture, as is often missing from every picture of downtown St. Louis, no people. There’s never anybody walking around in downtown St. Louis,” Cohen told broadcast partner and former Cardinal Todd Zeile. “It’s like, remember the old neutron bomb? That couldn’t knock down buildings, but just would eliminate all the people? It’s like one of those hit St. Louis.”

Now might not be the best time to make a reference about a city being bombed while the United States is at war with Iran, but point taken, given that the city of St. Louis appears to reflect recent Cardinals’ crowds at Busch Stadium.

The population of St. Louis has been on a long downward trend for decades, peaking at nearly 900,000 residents in the 1950s and dropping to below 280,000 in recent years. That puts the city on par with Newark, not the New York Cohen is used to seeing, which remains bustling with foot traffic regardless of the season or time of day.

Cohen recently admitted he still hears from people in Cincinnati after he disparaged Skyline chili during a broadcast in 2021. Now he might have St. Louis turning on him as well. But if no one is in St. Louis anyway, Cohen might not have to worry about much backlash.