Guess where Card Fans stand in ESPN Ranking?

[RonF]

Evidently, the only way we can go from here as an NFL Card fan is up based on ESPN's ranking of us. Here's the criteria used to judge us against other cities. Our score is in parenthases after the criteria, A rating of 1 is great, 5 the worst.


]Stadium factor (St.): Loud? Great atmosphere? (3)

• Live and die factor (LDF): Fans take loss hard? (That's a good thing.) (5)

• Traveling road show factor (Travel): Big presence in other guys' stadium? (5)

• Loyalty when team sucks (Loyal): You score points with us if you stick with a loser. (5)

• Hate factor (Hate): Other teams' fans dislike your fans? (Hate is good in our book.) (5)

• Tailgate factor (TG): Home tailgates sizzling or stale? (4)

• Home fans' creativity (CF): Wacky ideas … or not? (4)

We ended up 32nd in their poll


After the bloggers' ratings were digested by our Bristol computer, we had several ties. Enter The Professor, John Clayton of ESPN.com. Clayton -- who's covered more NFL games over the past 10 years than almost anyone -- broke all ties. Scientific? Nah. Fodder for debate? Certainly. Let the arguments begin (but keep 'em clean).


32. Cardinals



32. Cardinals



Consecutive sellouts: 20 | Season-ticket waiting list: 2,500

The team's new stadium has helped draw sellout crowds, but the franchise faces challenges. Too many football fans in the region had already latched onto other NFL teams, notably the Cowboys, by the time Bill Bidwill brought the Cardinals to the desert in the 1980s. Mismanagement and losing seasons kept fans away. The franchise is on an upswing and the fans are responding, but the Cardinals must win to turn skeptics into full-fledged believers.
-- Mike Sando




http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/preview08/columns/story?id=3549147

 

[RonF]

If they had of used number of sunny days we would have creamed the rest of them.

 

[Pariah]

• Loyalty when team sucks (Loyal): You score points with us if you stick with a loser. (5)

We should be the top ranked team when it comes to this one. The only fans we have are the ones that are around when we suck--how have we had a chance to prove otherwise?

 

[RonF]

Absolutely, Pariah, we should be ranked #1 for all the years we have supported our team.

 

[MadCardDisease]

At least we can only move up!

 

[MadCardDisease]

That is messed up:

Stadium factor (St.): Loud? Great atmosphere?

UoP gets pretty damn loud. Those oposing team fans sure have some good Chants!


• Live and die factor (LDF): Fans take loss hard? (That's a good thing.)

I'm pretty sure I died after the Bears Monday night Meltdown

• Traveling road show factor (Travel): Big presence in other guys' stadium?

I went to opening night last year in SF and was one of a handfull of Cards fans there. The entire stadium noticed me and booed. I was a huge presence.

• Loyalty when team sucks (Loyal): You score points with us if you stick with a loser.

My team has only sucked so I Win!


• Hate factor (Hate): Other teams' fans dislike your fans? (Hate is good in our book.)

Everyone on the 49ers board says they hate me.


• Tailgate factor (TG): Home tailgates sizzling or stale?

I tailgate before every home game and the Temps are in the 100s. If that ain't sizzle I don't know what is!


• Home fans' creativity (CF): Wacky ideas … or not?

Every year I say "This is the Cardinal's year". Thats pretty wacky!

 

[RugbyMuffin]

Seeing this %&*(ing thread and this thread: http://www.arizonasportsfans.com/vb/f4/sad-day-117874.html#post1803605

on the same page makes me want to puke.

WE are the worse?

How about Jacksonville who can't fill a stadium with a playoff team, what about the Rams who can't see out a stadium less then 10 years after a Superbowl.

I hate ESPN. They rank last in the usually crap category behind Disney.

 

[Duckjake]

That is messed up:

Stadium factor (St.): Loud? Great atmosphere?

UoP gets pretty damn loud. Those oposing team fans sure have some good Chants!


• Live and die factor (LDF): Fans take loss hard? (That's a good thing.)

I'm pretty sure I died after the Bears Monday night Meltdown

• Traveling road show factor (Travel): Big presence in other guys' stadium?

I went to opening night last year in SF and was one of a handfull of Cards fans there. The entire stadium noticed me and booed. I was a huge presence.

• Loyalty when team sucks (Loyal): You score points with us if you stick with a loser.

My team has only sucked so I Win!


• Hate factor (Hate): Other teams' fans dislike your fans? (Hate is good in our book.)

Everyone on the 49ers board says they hate me.


• Tailgate factor (TG): Home tailgates sizzling or stale?

I tailgate before every home game and the Temps are in the 100s. If that ain't sizzle I don't know what is!


• Home fans' creativity (CF): Wacky ideas … or not?

Every year I say "This is the Cardinal's year". Thats pretty wacky!

You need to send this to ESPN. Great work. Especially the sizzling tailgates.

 

[NeverSayDieFan]

...AND when we WIN the Super Bowl...

where will we be?? LUV being the "under-dog". Makes it soooooooo MUCH sweeter!! Remember beating Dallas in 98'. Could have heard a pin drop in the stadium.. (Hee~Hee).

 

[ReddBird]

Thanks, RonF, for the post.

Wanna bet that we'd have ranked in the Top Ten if we'd had a run of winning seasons? It seems as if every publication wants to slam the "old" Cardinals, no matter what -- and, since they don't take the time to do their research, they haven't got a clue.

 

[Treesquid PhD]

the hardcore cardinals fans are decent, certainly not the worst in the NFL, it's an easy target for the national media plain and simple.

I do think the local media is the worst bunch of wannabe bigtime nfl homers on the planet. hate on warner during the mclown era and now love him, make up your mind media.

 

[Lorenzo]

well what are you gonna do? besides who really cares what ESPN thinks about a fanbase. if there were 32 major sports networks I'd rate ESPN close to the bottom. while they are very informative...they have a laundry list of people who can be very annoying. matt mosley is certainly one of them. I think the new stadium has brought so much more to the fanbase.

 

[Jersey Girl]

There was a lot of hate for opposing fans around section 122 tonight when some dude got cuffed and carted out.

The people who do these things are rarely at the games. They really have no clue.

 

[English on tour]

We should be the top ranked team when it comes to this one. The only fans we have are the ones that are around when we suck--how have we had a chance to prove otherwise?

nail on the head there mate.

 

[Garthshort]

Until the kids who were born after the team moved to Az, grow up and become fans, the poll is probably correct. But this site has shown that there is a core of fans who will bridge the gap until that happens.

 

[RedViper]

We should be the top ranked team when it comes to this one. The only fans we have are the ones that are around when we suck--how have we had a chance to prove otherwise?

Exactly right. And every version of this story always misses this point. No one ever seems to make the indisputable point that the hardcore fans of teams that have never rewarded those fans with sustained success are the best fans anywhere. Period. Its only about faith, loyalty, willingness and demonstrated ability to persevere through hardship, with those fans. If fandom has any intrinsic value and isn't just a total waste of time and money, those have to be the values.

I work with a guy, his teams are NY Yankees, UNC (basketball only, never heard him utter a word about their football or baseball, not sure why) Notre Dame football, Chicago Bears. He used to like the Raiders but doesn't anymore (cant say why). This guy has no geographical connection to any of these teams except vaguely UNC. I'm going to declare on this board, based on that evidence, this guy is an absolute frontrunner. Absolutely, postively, he's picked everyone of these teams because they've been on top of the rock at some point, if not usually up there every year. Thats the only common thread. This guy has the nerve to turn his nose up to me because I'm a Cardinals fan.

No one ever writes the piece about how these teams with large fan bases are made up of a massive number of frontrunners. Sure, they have genuine fans as well, but they are in the midst of large numbers of complete posers. All serious fans are going to agree an exposed frontrunner is the worst kind of fan. Completely phony through and through and more than likely it carries over into their real life. What we don't get credit for although we should is the fact that no frontrunner has ever put on a Cardinals jersey. The guy is the Cardinals jersey cheering next to us in our stadium, we've never met before, but we know whoever he or she is, they can't be a frontrunner. We don't have a single one of those losers in our ranks. Its one of the reasons I will always love this team. I don't think this piece ever gets written because the numbers aren't with us. You make more money by making the frontrunners feel good about themselves.

 

[devilalum]

This is a stupid list.

With just a couple of exceptions the best teams have great fans and all the bad teams have bad fans. New England was #4. Just a few years ago they were commonly discussed as having bad fans.