Mitch
Crawled Through 5 FB Fields
"If you build it, they will come..."
The Bidwills, when they moved the Cardinal franchise in 1987 from St. Louis to Arizona were promised a new stadium. However, for the better part of 17 years, to quote from Martin Luther King, the prospect of a new stadium was a "promisory note" that came back marked "insufficient funds."
In that interim the Cardinals had traded in the cozy confines of Bush Stadium for Sun Devil Stadium, home of the Arizona St. Sun Devils. While the Sun Devils were able to play September and October home games under the lights, thus giving their fans a reprieve from the blistering heat, the Cardinals and their sparse fans found themselves frying like filets of fish in a red hot skillet.
It was really no wonder that Simeon Rice deemed Arizona "the armpit of the NFL." While this Parthian shot was hurtful to the loyal fans and hopeful team administrators, it smacked of the truth. And, in a perverse way, Rice helped exacerbate and illuminate the organization's problems so well that change, one way or another, was bound to occur.
The Cardinals could no longer be deemed a viable NFL franchise if they continued to play in a college football stadium in oppressive and sweltering heat before paltry crowds of 22,000. Not even local icon, QB Jake Plummer, could make a difference at the turnstyles.
The only hope was to host the Cowboys or some other popular franchise whose rabid fans would fly in and buy the sections of available tickets.
As horrible for the players as it was to play for a perennial loser while getting scorched, beaten up and dehydrated in the relentless heat, they often had to listen to the opposing team's fans make far more noise and commotion than their own beleaguered fans.
But, finally, the new stadium happened.
This was the day the new Cardinals were born.
And this was the day that antiquity tranformed into modernism...almost overnight.
Take note of the numerous manifestations of the transformations:
1. This new state-of-the-art retractable roof and grass field (first of its kind) with the ambience of colorful modern scoreboards, luxury boxes all bathed in luscious air conditioning, was akin to trading the Parthenon in for the Trump Towers.
2. Mr. Bidwill, forced for so long to run his struggling, barely-breathing franchise like the parsimonious Mr. Potter in It's a Wonderful Life, with sudden new revenues heading his way, shunned his anachronistic, excessively conservative and frugal ways, for becoming a savvy, generous, and suddenly up-to-date, innovative executive.
What an auspicious time this was as well for Mr. Bidwill's son, Michael, to assume a new and impressive leadership role within the organization. Surely, Michael's youthful enthusiasm and ideas, had (and continue to have) a very positive impact on his father's transformation and the transformation of the organization.
Let's take a gander at the proof:
1. First, the team introduced new modernized uniforms, and a new nastier looking Cardinal logo. And, if you recall, the Bidwill's put on a fashion show to preview the changes. That's right, a fashion show. Star players such as Kurt Warner, Adrian Wilson and Karlos Dansby, donning the new white and red curvy-striped Cardinal uniforms, were paraded before the cameras and lights like Yves St. Laurent models.
2. Secondly, the Cardinals were suddenly rethinking the way they negotiated their player contracts. Where once Mr. Bidwill refused to agree to incentive-based contracts with escalators and the like, he now was amenable to keeping up with Jones'---if you get my drift.
3. Thirdly, when it became clear that the then incumbent head coach Dennis Green was not what they thought he would be---for the product on the field was still faltering in conspicuous ways, as in the now infamous Monday Night Meltdown---the Bidwills ate the remaining $4M on Green's contract---something they would have been loath to do in the past---in favor of putting the immediate fortunes of the team in more capable, creative and competitive hands.
4. The hiring of Ken Whisenhunt was remarkable in its own way. Whisenhunt, who was a top in-house candidate to succeede Bill Cowher in Pittsburgh (and was Cowher's offensive coordinator who helped develop the young QB Ben Roethlisberger, and lead the Steelers to a Super Bowl victory in the process), was so impressed with the Cardinals, that he phoned the Bidwills a few days after his interview and asked if he could return for a second interview. When Whisenhunt was hired during that second interview, he thus pulled the plug on whatever chances he still had at becoming the Steelers' head coach. The Steelers had been taking their sweet time and were still interviewing outside candidates. Whisenhunt decided to take the bird in hand.
With Whisenhunt's hiring...all kinds of changes have taken place. Take a gander at these:
1. At Whisenhunt's urging, the Bidwills built a brand new training facility. Whisenhunt then hired John Lott, one of the most energetic and highly regarded Strength and Conditioning coaches in the business. Knowing that football games are won in the trenches, Whisenhunt was going to do all he could to strengthen his entire roster. This has been a major improvement on and off the field, and perhaps the most significant of all the changes.
2. The Bidwills then agreed for the first time ever to pay assistant coaches highly competitive salaries. It was therefore a major coup for the organization and Whisenhunt to have the money to hire Assistant Head Coach Russ Grimm, who was also a finalist for the head coaching job. In addition to Grimm, Whisenhunt was able to sign the likes of Offensive Coordinator Todd Haley and Running Backs coach Maurice Carthon, both of whom had roots in Bill Parcells' systems. Whisenhunt rounded out the rest of the staff with excellent choices.
3. The one leftover coach from the Green staff was Defensive Coordinator Clancy Pendergast---who was in agreement with Whisenhunt to change the Cardinals' base defense from the 4-3 to a hybrid version of the 3-4. While the transition to the 3-4 has had its share of ups and downs, Pendergast has been able to provide stronger run defense, and in recent weeks, has shown a wider capability of implementing more aggressive man-to-man pass coverages. Pendergast has always shown a good ability to orchestrate blitzing schemes, and that remains his forte.
4. Whisenhunt has sold the players on his "team first" mantra. Players on his roster are rarely idle, as he find ways to create roles for all the players. There are many more substitutions than in the past. But, the most salient difference is that Whisenhunt does not play favorites and does not give any player special treatment. In Whisenhunt's system the players who play the best and give the team the best chance to win are the ones who play.
5. Whisenhunt is not afraid to roll the dice. He's about as unpredictable as they come. For example, no one has kicked more successful on-side kicks in the last two years than the Cardinals...and for the first time ever the Cardinals blocked a punt to win a ballgame. And, on 4th and ones, Whisenhunt will not only go for it, he even has the guts to pass the ball in that situation.
6. The team morale is stronger than it's ever been. One can tell that these players truly like each other. Whisenhunt paved the way for this by surprising the players in training camp with spontaneous bowling and movies excursions.
7. The communication amongst the coaches and players has never been stronger. No longer do we see a head coach standing like a Budhha on the sidelines, separated from the players, mumbling to himself. We see players and coaches huddled in groups, poring over game photos and whiteboards.
8. The players are happy with the ownership that Whisenhunt and his staff has given them. Kurt Warner was recently attributing the Cardinals' success to this very notion. As a teacher and ex-coach, this is perhaps the transformation I appreciate the most, because there is no question in my mind that best classroom is the one where the teacher sets the tone, but the students assume the ownership. Same for coaches and athletic teams. After all, it is the players who play the game.
9. And while Anquan Boldin was upset that Whisenhunt was involved in his contract negotiations with the Cardinals, the fact that the head coach is clearly trying to ensure what's best for the present and future of the organization is, in my opinion, a very auspicious development. There's no question that Whisenhunt wants Anquan Boldin on his team, and at the end of the day, both he and Anquan can celebrate when the new deal is inked.
10. And if you have any doubts about Anquan Boldin getting a new deal this off-season, don't waste any more time worrying about it. The Bidwills took care of Boldin and his fiance after the horrible injury in New York. They will take care of Boldin this off-season, and Boldin won't soon forget the class and genuine care that he received from his owners.
11. The fans. The Field of Dream was built...and "they" have come...in red colored droves! The crown noise and excitement at the University of Phoenix Stadium is as fervid as any in the NFL...all in a mere three years! Soon enough, Cardinal tickets will become---if they aren't alreasy---the hottest tickets in town.
12. The product on the field has been exhilarating...under Whisenhunt virtually every game has been close and hotly contested. These current Cardinals are up at the top of the league in total offense and are being led, ironically, by a 37 year old Renaissance man in Kurt Warner, who stands in the pocket defiantly and takes repeated hits as he delivers a myriad of on-the-money strikes downfield to a cadre of skilled receivers led by the spectacular Magi of Anquan Boldin, Larry Fitzgerald and Steve Breaston. The defense is active and fast. They have a penchant for creating turnovers and, while they remain inconsistent, they are carving out their own identity and assuming new and more aggressive plans of attack. Hey, when was the last time the Cardinal defense staged a goal-line stand to win a ballgame?
There have been brand new ways of winning ballgames...even winning an overtime game on a blocked punt...or having a speedy rookie, Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, snatch a win out of thin air by snagging a perfectly timed interception with the game on the line.
Yes, there have been mistakes...even repeated mistakes...but, as evidenced by the Cardinals' current 4-1 home record and 3-3 away record, the team has found ways to overcome its mistakes and still prevail. We fans, so painfully cognizant of all the mistakes and meltdowns of the past, have to rethink the way we handle watching the mistakes these current Cardinals make...because every team makes them...and perhaps the hardest tranformation of all is taking place within us---as we are learning---that despite the mistakes, these are not the "same old Cardinals!"
The media is calling all of this a "culture change" in Arizona. It all started with The Field of Dreams. And now it appears that for the first time since 1947 the Cardinals will be hosting their first playoff game. Wow!
And in the cool rafters of this extraordinary facility, the Bidwills will raise their first NFC West Champions banner, and who knows what other banner this year, and in the years ahead will be hoisted along side this first one. The prospects of such banners seemed unfathomable just a couple of years ago...but we live in a country that dares to dream...and in a land where dreams can come true...as the song says, "it can happen to you!"
Happy Thanksgiving to the Cardinal family...I, for one, am especially thankful to all of you.
The Bidwills, when they moved the Cardinal franchise in 1987 from St. Louis to Arizona were promised a new stadium. However, for the better part of 17 years, to quote from Martin Luther King, the prospect of a new stadium was a "promisory note" that came back marked "insufficient funds."
In that interim the Cardinals had traded in the cozy confines of Bush Stadium for Sun Devil Stadium, home of the Arizona St. Sun Devils. While the Sun Devils were able to play September and October home games under the lights, thus giving their fans a reprieve from the blistering heat, the Cardinals and their sparse fans found themselves frying like filets of fish in a red hot skillet.
It was really no wonder that Simeon Rice deemed Arizona "the armpit of the NFL." While this Parthian shot was hurtful to the loyal fans and hopeful team administrators, it smacked of the truth. And, in a perverse way, Rice helped exacerbate and illuminate the organization's problems so well that change, one way or another, was bound to occur.
The Cardinals could no longer be deemed a viable NFL franchise if they continued to play in a college football stadium in oppressive and sweltering heat before paltry crowds of 22,000. Not even local icon, QB Jake Plummer, could make a difference at the turnstyles.
The only hope was to host the Cowboys or some other popular franchise whose rabid fans would fly in and buy the sections of available tickets.
As horrible for the players as it was to play for a perennial loser while getting scorched, beaten up and dehydrated in the relentless heat, they often had to listen to the opposing team's fans make far more noise and commotion than their own beleaguered fans.
But, finally, the new stadium happened.
This was the day the new Cardinals were born.
And this was the day that antiquity tranformed into modernism...almost overnight.
Take note of the numerous manifestations of the transformations:
1. This new state-of-the-art retractable roof and grass field (first of its kind) with the ambience of colorful modern scoreboards, luxury boxes all bathed in luscious air conditioning, was akin to trading the Parthenon in for the Trump Towers.
2. Mr. Bidwill, forced for so long to run his struggling, barely-breathing franchise like the parsimonious Mr. Potter in It's a Wonderful Life, with sudden new revenues heading his way, shunned his anachronistic, excessively conservative and frugal ways, for becoming a savvy, generous, and suddenly up-to-date, innovative executive.
What an auspicious time this was as well for Mr. Bidwill's son, Michael, to assume a new and impressive leadership role within the organization. Surely, Michael's youthful enthusiasm and ideas, had (and continue to have) a very positive impact on his father's transformation and the transformation of the organization.
Let's take a gander at the proof:
1. First, the team introduced new modernized uniforms, and a new nastier looking Cardinal logo. And, if you recall, the Bidwill's put on a fashion show to preview the changes. That's right, a fashion show. Star players such as Kurt Warner, Adrian Wilson and Karlos Dansby, donning the new white and red curvy-striped Cardinal uniforms, were paraded before the cameras and lights like Yves St. Laurent models.
2. Secondly, the Cardinals were suddenly rethinking the way they negotiated their player contracts. Where once Mr. Bidwill refused to agree to incentive-based contracts with escalators and the like, he now was amenable to keeping up with Jones'---if you get my drift.
3. Thirdly, when it became clear that the then incumbent head coach Dennis Green was not what they thought he would be---for the product on the field was still faltering in conspicuous ways, as in the now infamous Monday Night Meltdown---the Bidwills ate the remaining $4M on Green's contract---something they would have been loath to do in the past---in favor of putting the immediate fortunes of the team in more capable, creative and competitive hands.
4. The hiring of Ken Whisenhunt was remarkable in its own way. Whisenhunt, who was a top in-house candidate to succeede Bill Cowher in Pittsburgh (and was Cowher's offensive coordinator who helped develop the young QB Ben Roethlisberger, and lead the Steelers to a Super Bowl victory in the process), was so impressed with the Cardinals, that he phoned the Bidwills a few days after his interview and asked if he could return for a second interview. When Whisenhunt was hired during that second interview, he thus pulled the plug on whatever chances he still had at becoming the Steelers' head coach. The Steelers had been taking their sweet time and were still interviewing outside candidates. Whisenhunt decided to take the bird in hand.
With Whisenhunt's hiring...all kinds of changes have taken place. Take a gander at these:
1. At Whisenhunt's urging, the Bidwills built a brand new training facility. Whisenhunt then hired John Lott, one of the most energetic and highly regarded Strength and Conditioning coaches in the business. Knowing that football games are won in the trenches, Whisenhunt was going to do all he could to strengthen his entire roster. This has been a major improvement on and off the field, and perhaps the most significant of all the changes.
2. The Bidwills then agreed for the first time ever to pay assistant coaches highly competitive salaries. It was therefore a major coup for the organization and Whisenhunt to have the money to hire Assistant Head Coach Russ Grimm, who was also a finalist for the head coaching job. In addition to Grimm, Whisenhunt was able to sign the likes of Offensive Coordinator Todd Haley and Running Backs coach Maurice Carthon, both of whom had roots in Bill Parcells' systems. Whisenhunt rounded out the rest of the staff with excellent choices.
3. The one leftover coach from the Green staff was Defensive Coordinator Clancy Pendergast---who was in agreement with Whisenhunt to change the Cardinals' base defense from the 4-3 to a hybrid version of the 3-4. While the transition to the 3-4 has had its share of ups and downs, Pendergast has been able to provide stronger run defense, and in recent weeks, has shown a wider capability of implementing more aggressive man-to-man pass coverages. Pendergast has always shown a good ability to orchestrate blitzing schemes, and that remains his forte.
4. Whisenhunt has sold the players on his "team first" mantra. Players on his roster are rarely idle, as he find ways to create roles for all the players. There are many more substitutions than in the past. But, the most salient difference is that Whisenhunt does not play favorites and does not give any player special treatment. In Whisenhunt's system the players who play the best and give the team the best chance to win are the ones who play.
5. Whisenhunt is not afraid to roll the dice. He's about as unpredictable as they come. For example, no one has kicked more successful on-side kicks in the last two years than the Cardinals...and for the first time ever the Cardinals blocked a punt to win a ballgame. And, on 4th and ones, Whisenhunt will not only go for it, he even has the guts to pass the ball in that situation.
6. The team morale is stronger than it's ever been. One can tell that these players truly like each other. Whisenhunt paved the way for this by surprising the players in training camp with spontaneous bowling and movies excursions.
7. The communication amongst the coaches and players has never been stronger. No longer do we see a head coach standing like a Budhha on the sidelines, separated from the players, mumbling to himself. We see players and coaches huddled in groups, poring over game photos and whiteboards.
8. The players are happy with the ownership that Whisenhunt and his staff has given them. Kurt Warner was recently attributing the Cardinals' success to this very notion. As a teacher and ex-coach, this is perhaps the transformation I appreciate the most, because there is no question in my mind that best classroom is the one where the teacher sets the tone, but the students assume the ownership. Same for coaches and athletic teams. After all, it is the players who play the game.
9. And while Anquan Boldin was upset that Whisenhunt was involved in his contract negotiations with the Cardinals, the fact that the head coach is clearly trying to ensure what's best for the present and future of the organization is, in my opinion, a very auspicious development. There's no question that Whisenhunt wants Anquan Boldin on his team, and at the end of the day, both he and Anquan can celebrate when the new deal is inked.
10. And if you have any doubts about Anquan Boldin getting a new deal this off-season, don't waste any more time worrying about it. The Bidwills took care of Boldin and his fiance after the horrible injury in New York. They will take care of Boldin this off-season, and Boldin won't soon forget the class and genuine care that he received from his owners.
11. The fans. The Field of Dream was built...and "they" have come...in red colored droves! The crown noise and excitement at the University of Phoenix Stadium is as fervid as any in the NFL...all in a mere three years! Soon enough, Cardinal tickets will become---if they aren't alreasy---the hottest tickets in town.
12. The product on the field has been exhilarating...under Whisenhunt virtually every game has been close and hotly contested. These current Cardinals are up at the top of the league in total offense and are being led, ironically, by a 37 year old Renaissance man in Kurt Warner, who stands in the pocket defiantly and takes repeated hits as he delivers a myriad of on-the-money strikes downfield to a cadre of skilled receivers led by the spectacular Magi of Anquan Boldin, Larry Fitzgerald and Steve Breaston. The defense is active and fast. They have a penchant for creating turnovers and, while they remain inconsistent, they are carving out their own identity and assuming new and more aggressive plans of attack. Hey, when was the last time the Cardinal defense staged a goal-line stand to win a ballgame?
There have been brand new ways of winning ballgames...even winning an overtime game on a blocked punt...or having a speedy rookie, Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, snatch a win out of thin air by snagging a perfectly timed interception with the game on the line.
Yes, there have been mistakes...even repeated mistakes...but, as evidenced by the Cardinals' current 4-1 home record and 3-3 away record, the team has found ways to overcome its mistakes and still prevail. We fans, so painfully cognizant of all the mistakes and meltdowns of the past, have to rethink the way we handle watching the mistakes these current Cardinals make...because every team makes them...and perhaps the hardest tranformation of all is taking place within us---as we are learning---that despite the mistakes, these are not the "same old Cardinals!"
The media is calling all of this a "culture change" in Arizona. It all started with The Field of Dreams. And now it appears that for the first time since 1947 the Cardinals will be hosting their first playoff game. Wow!
And in the cool rafters of this extraordinary facility, the Bidwills will raise their first NFC West Champions banner, and who knows what other banner this year, and in the years ahead will be hoisted along side this first one. The prospects of such banners seemed unfathomable just a couple of years ago...but we live in a country that dares to dream...and in a land where dreams can come true...as the song says, "it can happen to you!"
Happy Thanksgiving to the Cardinal family...I, for one, am especially thankful to all of you.
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