Bickley article on "sellout" Cardinals fans

[BIGRED1959]

anybody read this, I have not had the chance to look it up. Editorial on the fairweather fans who sell their tickets and hurt the vally's image of a loyal sports town.

 

[jbeecham]

He pretty much hits the nail on the head. He acknowledges that the team can't expect an entire stadium of die-hard fans who won't sell their tickets when they have had so few years of success. He also briefly talks about how approximately 10% of the 56K season tickets go to brokers. He also doesn't blame fans for selling tickets with the amount of money being made off of their sale (the team & players are making money, why not the fans).

http://www.azcentral.com/story/spor...-sellout-fans-hurting-valleys-image/77505106/

 

[football karma]

on one hand:

Bickley has been very pro-Cardinal over the last few years -- and its clear he thinks Keim / BA have the organization on the right track, and isnt shy about saying so

on the other:

Bickley is also emblematic of the transplant "problem" here as he waxes nostalgic about all things Chicago, is all aboard the Cub bandwagon and generally pays more attention to Chicago sports than a local Phx sports radio show ought to.

 

[Dback Jon]

on one hand:

Bickley has been very pro-Cardinal over the last few years -- and its clear he thinks Keim / BA have the organization on the right track, and isnt shy about saying so

on the other:

Bickley is also emblematic of the transplant "problem" here as he waxes nostalgic about all things Chicago, is all aboard the Cub bandwagon and generally pays more attention to Chicago sports than a local Phx sports radio show ought to.

I just sent him an email asking - if the Cubs and the Dbacks are playing in the NLCS, who does he root for?

And for Gambassado if the Dbacks and Yankees are playing in the World Series, who does he root for?




Do you think if a Dbacks/Cardinals homer was on the air in New York or Chicago, they would last long? Heck no. Disgrace both have air time here.

 

[BigRedRage]

who cares what Bickley thinks

 

[azmike74]

I just sent him an email asking - if the Cubs and the Dbacks are playing in the NLCS, who does he root for?

And for Gambassado if the Dbacks and Yankees are playing in the World Series, who does he root for?




Do you think if a Dbacks/Cardinals homer was on the air in New York or Chicago, they would last long? Heck no. Disgrace both have air time here.

Ha, I think you already know the answer to your questions...I hope they provide honest responses because I don't think there is anyway they give up their allegiances to NY and Chitown.

 

[ARZCardinals]

Yea, how about all the years where the Cardinals SUCKED! Did they thank us for coming? Did they lower ticket prices for season ticket holders who paid full price when scalpers were selling seats right next to us for $5? Does the team give us season ticket holders a discount on preseason tickets when the games are meaningless?

The answer is NO they don't. So anyone and everyone can kiss the rear ends of sellers for making a little bit of cash...be it to pay off x-mas or whatever.

Finally the one time where we can make money and they are screaming bloody murder....how about all the questions above? A bunch of johnny come lately losers

They should all be kicked in the nutz for judging people for making a profit. The top 1% of the population is rich...the rest of us have to WORK for it....and when opportunity knocks OPEN THE DANG DOOR!

 

[coyoteshockeyfan]

Ooh, so there's this month's condescending finger wagging piece from Bickley. Figuring out how to keep tickets out of the hands of brokers and opposing fans is a legitimate issue, but I'll start caring what pundits think about attendance related subjects when they start buying their tickets like everybody else.

 

[8ndkorner]

He pretty much hits the nail on the head. He acknowledges that the team can't expect an entire stadium of die-hard fans who won't sell their tickets when they have had so few years of success. He also briefly talks about how approximately 10% of the 56K season tickets go to brokers. He also doesn't blame fans for selling tickets with the amount of money being made off of their sale (the team & players are making money, why not the fans).

http://www.azcentral.com/story/spor...-sellout-fans-hurting-valleys-image/77505106/

I say "SELL THEM!" The buyer REALLY wants to see the game which only heightens to the energy from the crowd.

 

[AZ Native]

I just sent him an email asking - if the Cubs and the Dbacks are playing in the NLCS, who does he root for?

And for Gambassado if the Dbacks and Yankees are playing in the World Series, who does he root for?




Do you think if a Dbacks/Cardinals homer was on the air in New York or Chicago, they would last long? Heck no. Disgrace both have air time here.

I'm pretty sure that Bickley would pull for the Cubs and I know Gambo would go with the Yanks, he already showed that in 2001. In fact he still talks about "if Mariano doesn't make that bad throw, the Yankees win that series".

Don't know about you Jon, but as an AZ native if I moved anywhere else I would still be a Dbacks fan. Wouldn't you?

 

[AZ Native]

I say "SELL THEM!" The buyer REALLY wants to see the game which only heightens to the energy from the crowd.

Unfortunately, the people laying down this kind of cash for these tickets are mostly for the opposing team.

 

[Dback Jon]

Ha, I think you already know the answer to your questions...I hope they provide honest responses because I don't think there is anyway they give up their allegiances to NY and Chitown.

Then they shouldn't be employed in Arizona.


I grew up a Cubs and Bears fan. Now, Dbacks and Cards are who I root for, and would only root from Cubs and Bears if my teams were eliminated.

 

[Dback Jon]

I'm pretty sure that Bickley would pull for the Cubs and I know Gambo would go with the Yanks, he already showed that in 2001. In fact he still talks about "if Mariano doesn't make that bad throw, the Yankees win that series".

Don't know about you Jon, but as an AZ native if I moved anywhere else I would still be a Dbacks fan. Wouldn't you?

If I was only going to be there temporarily (like I did when I lived in Nashville), yes.


But I am an Arizonan now - born and raised in Illinois. A Cubs and Bears fan. But they are not my primary team anymore.

 

[AZ Native]

If I was only going to be there temporarily (like I did when I lived in Nashville), yes.


But I am an Arizonan now - born and raised in Illinois. A Cubs and Bears fan. But they are not my primary team anymore.

You were probably still young, I'm too old to change.

 

[AZ Native]

Then they shouldn't be employed in Arizona.

This we can agree on.

 

[Cheesebeef]

Then they shouldn't be employed in Arizona.


I grew up a Cubs and Bears fan. Now, Dbacks and Cards are who I root for, and would only root from Cubs and Bears if my teams were eliminated.

I've always been curious about this kind of thing. How did you allegiances change when you moved to a new city? I've lived in SoCal now for over half my life and could never cheer for any of their teams and love my own less.

Don't misunderstand the above as judgement either. My Dad is the exact same story as you and was a rabid fan of everything Chicago and made the same flip you did. I just don't understand how it's possible so I'm always curious to hear others stories.

 

[Dback Jon]

I've always been curious about this kind of thing. How did you allegiances change when you moved to a new city? I've lived in SoCal now for over half my life and could never cheer for any of their teams and love my own less.

Don't misunderstand the above as judgement either. My Dad is the exact same story as you and was a rabid fan of everything Chicago and made the same flip you did. I just don't understand how it's possible so I'm always curious to hear others stories.

For me it was a gradual process, made easier by the idiocy of the Cubs ownership in baseball.

I mostly grew up in Central Illinois, which is mostly St. Louis Baseball Cards territory (but by early years were in Northern Illinois, in Cubs territory). Cards were winning WS then, and Cubs sucked. But I stayed true to them. I moved to Flagstaff in 1983, and only baseball games available were on KTLA, Dodgers broadcast by Vin Scully, which made watching games a pleasure compared to Harry Carey. I never became a Dodger fan - still a Cubs fan, but the loyalty started to slip as the Cubs ownership showed no desire to put a winning team together - and why should they? Cubs fans are mostly interested in getting drunk on the bleachers, and being the lovable losers.

I moved to Phoenix in 1996, just as the BOB was being built. Loved watching it go up. Then, opening season came, and I was hooked. My own team, being an original fan. Cubs fans are still among the most obnoxious in the world.


As for the Bears/Cards - when I moved out here, the Cards were in St. Louis. So I celebrated the Bears Super Bowl in 1985.
Went to my first Cards game in 1988 - my work in Flagstaff got tickets for the SF game. Great game to see my first NFL game. Came down to one or two games a year until I moved down here. The team just gradually grew in my blood. Arizona became home, and I am loyal to my teams.

I still have a spot for the Cubs and Bears, but when it is between the AZ teams, and the Chicago teams, AZ wins every time.

 

[ajcardfan]

I've always been curious about this kind of thing. How did you allegiances change when you moved to a new city? I've lived in SoCal now for over half my life and could never cheer for any of their teams and love my own less.

Don't misunderstand the above as judgement either. My Dad is the exact same story as you and was a rabid fan of everything Chicago and made the same flip you did. I just don't understand how it's possible so I'm always curious to hear others stories.

Bickley actually makes a pretty good point. i heard him expand it on the radio after work. He said it's not the Cardinals flipping life long fans of other teams, but for 20 years when they had the chance to attract the kids and relatively unattached fans here they were a dumpster fire and lost an opportunity to make inroads into those generations. He was saying where the Cards are now is where they should've been in 1993 or 94. And, since those generations are still in their prime economically, it will take more time to build the rabid fan base we all want to see.

I remember the mid 90s and you NEVER saw kids in Cards gear. Stores would have more Cowboys jerseys than Cards jerseys because the Cards stuff sold like crap. It is finally changing, but people are bitching because we haven't turned into Green Bay in less than 30 years.

 

[Dback Jon]

Bickley actually makes a pretty good point. i heard him expand it on the radio after work. He said it's not the Cardinals flipping life long fans of other teams, but for 20 years when they had the chance to attract the kids and relatively unattached fans here they were a dumpster fire and lost an opportunity to make inroads into those generations. He was saying where the Cards are now is where they should've been in 1993 or 94. And, since those generations are still in their prime economically, it will take more time to build the rabid fan base we all want to see.

I remember the mid 90s and you NEVER saw kids in Cards gear. Stores would have more Cowboys jerseys than Cards jerseys because the Cards stuff sold like crap. It is finally changing, but people are bitching because we haven't turned into Green Bay in less than 30 years.

And lets face it - we will never be Green Bay, or Pittsburgh etc - those are places were people move FROM. Phoenix is a place people move TO.

 

[splitsecond]

I've always been curious about this kind of thing. How did you allegiances change when you moved to a new city? I've lived in SoCal now for over half my life and could never cheer for any of their teams and love my own less.

Don't misunderstand the above as judgement either. My Dad is the exact same story as you and was a rabid fan of everything Chicago and made the same flip you did. I just don't understand how it's possible so I'm always curious to hear others stories.

I was a Niners fan as a kid, with my whole family from the bay area. The first football play I remember was pass from Montana to Rice. When the cardinals came here I was 7 and I would root for them the few times I watched them because they were local - even as a child I knew you still root for the home team. As I got older I had dual allegiances to some extent, but once the Eddie DeBartolo was booted and the York's took over it was really obvious the glory days were going to be over. I still had dual allegiance until the day we drafted Larry Fitzgerald. I was living in Pittsburgh at the time, and had watched countless Pitt games and I knew it was the turning point. That was all I needed to finally let go of what little respect I had for the Niners franchise and go all in.

I still remember watching that draft and immediately picking up the phone and calling my brother and telling him this pick was going to change everything.

I was right.

 

[ajcardfan]

And lets face it - we will never be Green Bay, or Pittsburgh etc - those are places were people move FROM. Phoenix is a place people move TO.

And, also the way sports is consumed is really changing. In the 80s when the Packers sucked, you didn't see their stadium with a lot of opposing fans. But now? Lots of people really want to see their team play in a place like Lambeau and are willing to pay to do so. Even a team like Kansas City had a noticeable amount of fans in Lambeau this year. There was even a GB TD where the guy had to change his angle for the Lambeau Leap as the area right in front of him had a solid row of Chiefs fans. Right in what I would assume are very coveted seats in Green Bay since there is always a chance for you to touch a player.

 

[john h]

I'm pretty sure that Bickley would pull for the Cubs and I know Gambo would go with the Yanks, he already showed that in 2001. In fact he still talks about "if Mariano doesn't make that bad throw, the Yankees win that series".

Don't know about you Jon, but as an AZ native if I moved anywhere else I would still be a Dbacks fan. Wouldn't you?

With the lineup and pitching the Cubs will put on the field they will be a favorite to go all the way not just this year but in years to come. They took two of the Cards best players. As a football Cards fan and Cubs fan since 1944 this may be the best 2 years ever.

 

[RugbyMuffin]

I've always been curious about this kind of thing. How did you allegiances change when you moved to a new city? I've lived in SoCal now for over half my life and could never cheer for any of their teams and love my own less.

Don't misunderstand the above as judgement either. My Dad is the exact same story as you and was a rabid fan of everything Chicago and made the same flip you did. I just don't understand how it's possible so I'm always curious to hear others stories.

+1

I am from New Jersey [edit: and I still live in NJ to this day]. I spend an embarrassing amount money on the Cardinals every year just to watch them on TV.

So, does my money make up for my geography or does that make me 1/2 a fan ?

But, honestly I don't give a crap.

NFL is a business, and the Cardinals are a football team that plays a game for entertainment.

If it is between entertainment and money for the good of my household, that is not even a moments decision.

Just a game played by mercenaries and, run by a huge business, and at the end of the day, neither give a crap about the fans past their money.

This is fun stuff, not life or death. Find a team, and root for it. How you got there is interesting sure, but when you are at the game, or at home living and dying with every play, you are put of the collective fandom and are welcome in my eyes. And, if you got to go to your families event on Sunday and sell your tickets ? Cool, we will see you next Sunday and welcome you with open arms.

 

[PACardsFan]

With the lineup and pitching the Cubs will put on the field they will be a favorite to go all the way not just this year but in years to come. They took two of the Cards best players. As a football Cards fan and Cubs fan since 1944 this may be the best 2 years ever.

Don't worry, the Scrubs will find a way to blow it. They will always be the Loveable Losers

 

[AZ Native]

+1

I am from New Jersey. I spend an embarrassing amount money on the Cardinals every year just to watch them on TV.

So, does my money make up for my geography or does that make me 1/2 a fan ?

But, honestly I don't give a crap.

NFL is a business, and the Cardinals are a football team that plays a game for entertainment.

If it is between entertainment and money for the good of my household, that is not even a moments decision.

Just a game played by mercenaries and, run by a huge business, and at the end of the day, neither give a crap about the fans past their money.

This is fun stuff, not life or death. Find a team, and root for it. How you got there is interesting sure, but when you are at the game, or at home living and dying with every play, you are put of the collective fandom and are welcome in my eyes. And, if you got to go to your families event on Sunday and sell your tickets ? Cool, we will see you next Sunday and welcome you with open arms.

In my book RM, you are 1+ fan for supporting the Cardinals after moving here. We need more of those.