Maybe it’s a good thing the Arizona Cardinals are on the road this week against the Los Angeles Rams.
SoFi Stadium might not be as inhospitable as State Farm Stadium was last Sunday, Oct. 11, when fans of the Detroit Lions invaded Glendale in a storm of Honolulu blue and silver and outdrew the home crowd by a three-quarter margin.
The disparity in the stands might have been worse than the final score: Lions 45, Cardinals 21. The Red Sea – well, among those who bothered to show up and didn’t sell their tickets – was angry that day, my friends.
“They took over that stadium,” Lions coach Dan Campbell gushed the following day during his news conference in Detroit. “You could hear them and by the end of it, it was good stuff, man. We hear them and we
love it.”
It was the Cardinals’ ninth consecutive loss at home dating back to last season and it might have marked a new low point for the franchise since the Bidwill family relocated it to Arizona from St. Louis in 1988. The exasperation, anger and apathy have never felt this exhausting.
That’s how many fans of the Cardinals have been describing the draining atmosphere surrounding the team following this latest loss. The continual losing is one thing, they say, but now there is a real fear that fans from opposing teams will also keep outnumbering the home crowd at staggering rates.
“I’ve only missed two games in 25 years and never leave early,” Cardinals fan @Tony1808 wrote on X. “However, it was embarrassing to see our whole stadium blue today! I know we do get other large fans from other teams, but today was the most I’ve seen like that in a while. Today was also the very (first) time I left early.”
Joe Ortiz of Phoenix has been a Cardinals season-ticket holder for decades. He regularly paid for six seats at State Farm Stadium but is now down to just two, and he swears he’s never sold his tickets to opposing fans.
“I just never wanted to do that,” Ortiz told The Arizona Republic. “I always tried to go because I still loved going to watch football games. But it’s gotten to the point now where last year was so bad and the same with the beginning of this year that we leave at halftime. It’s just so frustrating.”
Jim Monachino of Buckeye said he’s stopped going to Cardinals games altogether.
“After being a season-ticket holder for the past 15 seasons, the constant futility of this franchise makes the decision to stop going easy,” he said in an email to The Republic. “It isn't worth the time or money to attend games; there is no entertainment value – unless you need an excuse to go out and get drunk.”
Cardinals' Bidwill won't sell, but how about a bright, new hire?
Things have gotten so bad that some disgruntled fans have taken to social media to start a petition in hopes of getting Cardinals owner Michael Bidwill to sell the team. That’s not something Bidwill would even consider, although he could start repairing his image and that of his football club by bringing in a new, respected voice to lead the organization.
It’s what Atlanta Falcons owner Arthur Blank did in January when he hired former longtime Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan to become the team’s president of football. Ryan holds final decision-making authority over the general manager and head coach, overseeing all football operations and roster construction.
Who better to do that in Arizona than former Cardinals quarterback Kurt Warner, a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame? Warner, 55, still resides in the Valley and he’s hinted about getting back into the game if the right situation were to present itself.
The smartest thing Bidwill could do is to remove himself as a mouthpiece for the franchise and let a football expert step in to run the show. That’s probably just a fantasy, though, just like the one former longtime Cardinals fan Marcus Murray used to have about his favorite team.
“The sad thing is, I really want to root for my home team,” Murray wrote on X. “I really do. Used to be a season-ticket holder but I could not keep spending my money on something that just upset me every week. I want to believe again. It’s just a fantasy at this point.”
Regardless of how Week 6 goes for the Cardinals at the Rams, the vibes inside State Farm Stadium could be much better next Sunday, Oct. 25, when the Denver Broncos pay a visit. The Cardinals will be honoring fan favorite and Hall of Fame wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald at halftime when they retire his No. 11 jersey and induct him into their Ring of Honor.
That alone should help Cardinals fans outnumber those from the Broncos. I mean, if Arizona doesn’t show up in full support of Larry for the celebration, then we’ve really hit rock bottom in this town. Getting overrun by the Broncos’ orange and blue would hit even harder than the Lions’ horde of Honolulu blue and silver.
“Honestly, it breaks my heart,” Ortiz, the long-suffering Cardinals’ season-ticket holder, said of watching opposing fans take over the Bird’s Nest. “You can’t enjoy your own home game. It’s like you have to share the place with the other team’s fans every week and that’s not how it’s supposed to be.”
Reach McManaman at bob.mcmanaman@arizonarepublic .Follow him on X, formerly Twitter: @azbobbymac and listen to him live every Tuesday at 3:30 p.m. on Roc and Manuch with Jimmy B on ESPN 620 (KTAR-AM) and every Thursday on the Doug Franz Unplugged podcast via Apple or Spotify.
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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Cardinals fans' anger should help Bidwill make big, new hire | Opinion
