AUBURN – Living deep inside Red Sox Nation, members of the Primm family feel a little bit like they’re behind enemy lines.

The red and blue logos and ball caps of the New England team are seemingly everywhere. Waiters at local restaurants wear Sox jerseys. Bumper stickers tell people to cheer the Boston team and “Keep the Faith.” And few people here cheer their beloved birds.

Their Primms are fans of the St. Louis Cardinals.

“We feel out of touch with what’s gone on with our team,” said Valentina Primm, who was raised in the small town of Dittmer, about 60 miles southwest of St. Louis.

She became a Cardinals fan because she grew up in a Cardinals family.

“It’s who I was,” said Valentina, who grew up watching the acrobatics of Ozzie Smith, nicknamed “The Wizard of Oz.” It wasn’t a choice. It was about family.

When she married her husband, Dale Primm, he joined her. And their three children – Christina, 15, Tarah, 13 and Isaac, 11 – became Cardinals fans, too.

Such as it is.

The family moved to Maine three years ago, so Dale could become the pastor at the Marston’s Corner Baptist Church in Auburn.

News about the team is scarce around here. Most of the games aren’t televised, though a few show up on ESPN.

“We miss the players,” Valentina said. New names pop up. Changes go by without notice.

But they noticed this year when the Cards began to take over the National League’s Central Division, securing a playoff spot with the best record in the majors.

Minutes after they won the pennant – besting former Sox pitcher Roger Clemens – Valentina’s sister called. The family yelled and screamed.

They even enjoyed it when the Red Sox beat the Yankees.

Now, they are getting a little good-natured teasing from Red Sox fans. At church, parishioners hid their miniature batting helmets from sight and taunted them playfully about Saturday night’s win.

The pastor didn’t retaliate. He even assured the Sunday night congregation that the service would finish in time to catch the game.

Their challenge now is seeing the games.

The family subscribes to a satellite TV service. When local TV stations were offered, they didn’t bother to sign up. They wish they had. The Fox broadcast network is running the World Series. Technicians now tell them they would not be helped before early November. But that would be too late.

For the first game of the World Series, they connected an indoor antenna to the TV. It almost worked. The picture was fuzzy and the sound was poor.

They bought a new antenna and hoped to install it before Tuesday night’s game.

They hope to have a clear image of their home ballpark – Busch Stadium – when the Cardinals begin three games in St. Louis.

And they’re hoping for a win.

“I want to have faith that they’re going to win,” Valentina said. “But you never know what’s going to happen.

“If they have to lose, I’d like it to be to the Red Sox,” she said.