Questions about the Cards playing at Sun Devil Stadium

[GatorAZ]

First off I moved to the Valley in 06' and instantly became a Cards' fan. The Giant Toaster had just finished so I never attended a game at SDS...

Anyway i've only heard bad things about the Cards' time there. Burning bleachers, empty seats, no playoff games etc... But what was it like there through your experiences for those who attended many games in Tempe?

What were your favorite memories & experiences there? What sucked about it? How did the atmosphere change over the years? Most exciting games there? Basically a brief summary of your time there...

Thanks for any info.

 

[Hollywood]

I have fond memories of the Cardinals in SDS. Was there for about 10 years and sat on the visitors side. aka the sunny side. First year we were surrounded by the fans of the other team but as time went on we had more and more Cardinals fans in our section. Section 32 rocked. It was a party every game, win or lose....mostly lose, but we still had fun.

You knew that anyone in Cardinals gear was a die hard fan. There was respect.

 

[RON_IN_OC]

I live in SoCal now, but had Cards Season Tix from 1990-2000...My seats were on the east side of the stadium, between the 20-30 yardlines, near the north endzone. What I remember most was the freaking heat. Sometimes it would be so blindingly hot, but still fun.

As for 1-off type of memories:

The year it actually snowed at a game...had been raining all morning and got cold enough that snow fell at halftime. Oh, and the Giants ran the ball down the Cards throats in the second half, to win the game.

The year an entire section of Vikings fans got kicked out, because they fought with each other.

The year, during a Dallas/Cards game, where a fight broke out in the upper deck of the North endzone, and a guy got taken out on a stretcher. It was so crowded and hot...I still can't believe the medics were able to get up there and get the guy out like that.

Steve Bono's 70 yard TD run...completely faked out the Cards.

Seth Joyner going off on the refs and slinging his helmet across the field, while being ejected. (BTW: Seth was one of my favorite Cards players...even though Buddy brought him in.)

Speaking of Buddy, his last game was memorable for 2 reasons...1) A movie was being filmed during the game. 2) It was his last game and he left the field before it ended.

I remember being there when the Jets beat the Cards, enroute to a 1-15 season for NY.

Of course all of the 1998 games, leading up to the win over the Chargers and the Cards 1st playoff appearance in AZ.

Seeing Steve Young get laid out by Aneas Williams on MNF, and effectively have his career ended.

I remember the year the Cards played the Browns, and it was the Browns "expansion" year...the Browns got up 21-0, I think, and the entire stadium was booing (not a 1st time that happened)...The guy sitting next to me said, "Don't worry, the Cards are going to win this game!"...and he was right...It was a great comeback victory.

I remember Clyde Simmons sacking Troy Aikmen so hard, that Troy didn't know what planet he was on.

I have lots of memories of that time and stadium...some good, but most not so good, unfortunately.

 

[Duckjake]

One of my favorite things was that there were so few fans that that the parking lots were usually only a third full which gave you plenty of room to tailgate and you could see just about everyone. It was easy to walk around and meet or visit with other Cardinals fans.

Plus we had plenty of room to toss around the football and nobody coming to tell us to move the canopy or other stuff out of the roadway.

The kids liked it because they were allowed to go walk around the upper deck because we could see them the entire time they were up there.

Also the half time meets were great because they were right next to a concession stand selling adult beverages, had concrete barriers you could sit on and with the lack of fans overall it was easy to get to.

I'm sure most will remember the Patriots/Tillman game. Where the concessions were so unprepared that people would leave to get food or drink and wouldn't come back for an entire quarter.

 

[RON_IN_OC]

One of my favorite things was that there were so few fans that that the parking lots were usually only a third full which gave you plenty of room to tailgate and you could see just about everyone. It was easy to walk around and meet or visit with other Cardinals fans.

Plus we had plenty of room to toss around the football and nobody coming to tell us to move the canopy or other stuff out of the roadway.

The kids liked it because they were allowed to go walk around the upper deck because we could see them the entire time they were up there.

The season ticket lots were awesome...they were always empty, because the season ticket fan base was so small. I remember watching the streams of people walking from across the river bed, over the bridge, while the lots next to the stadium weren't close to being full.

 

[Duckjake]

The season ticket lots were awesome...they were always empty, because the season ticket fan base was so small. I remember watching the streams of people walking from across the river bed, over the bridge, while the lots next to the stadium weren't close to being full.

Too true. I remember there was no one between Derm's tailgate and Skorps a quarter of the way around the stadium. Also the opposing fans had to walk through the ST lots so it gave us plenty of time to harass them.

Favorite pre game bar: Fumbles which was right across the street from the Stadium.

 

[ajcardfan]

Highlights:

1. Beating the 49ers (Super Bowl Champions that season) and the Giants (Super Bowl champions the season before) in back-to-back games. The 49ers game still the best comeback ever.

2. Beating the Cowboys in OT, on an insanely hot Sunday night, for the first time in oh, 50 years, and the fans tearing down the goalposts and running down the streets with them.

3. Of course, the 98 season with all those game winning FGs, and the delirium of the last one to beat the Chargers to make the playoffs.

Lowlights:

1. The crowd cheering that Kent Graham was injured.

2. A Steelers game that was the most drunken brawl-fest I ever endured there. Including an awful fight between two women that resulted in blood and tufts of hair all over the place. It inspired us to move from section 3 to the alcohol-free section 9 where the favorite past time of all the Cards fans in the section was getting the enemy fans who brought beer into that section kicked out of it. They would get so mad.

3. So many ripping defeat from the jaws of victory games, it made me sick at times.



Somehow, victory was sweeter there, and there was more pain in the defeats. It's probably me that changed the most, but part of it is that we were such underdogs there and that really changed at UofP where every game is "sold out" and on TV.

 

[RON_IN_OC]

Highlights:

1. Beating the 49ers (Super Bowl Champions that season) and the Giants (Super Bowl champions the season before) in back-to-back games. The 49ers game still the best comeback ever.

2. Beating the Cowboys in OT, on an insanely hot Sunday night, for the first time in oh, 50 years, and the fans tearing down the goalposts and running down the streets with them.

3. Of course, the 98 season with all those game winning FGs, and the delirium of the last one to beat the Chargers to make the playoffs.

Lowlights:

1. The crowd cheering that Kent Graham was injured.

2. A Steelers game that was the most drunken brawl-fest I ever endured there. Including an awful fight between two women that resulted in blood and tufts of hair all over the place. It inspired us to move from section 3 to the alcohol-free section 9 where the favorite past time of all the Cards fans in the section was getting the enemy fans who brought beer into that section kicked out of it. They would get so mad.

3. So many ripping defeat from the jaws of victory games, it made me sick at times.



Somehow, victory was sweeter there, and there was more pain in the defeats. It's probably me that changed the most, but part of it is that we were such underdogs there and that really changed at UofP where every game is "sold out" and on TV.

Oh yeah, I remember that game, too...Got carted off with the leg in an air splint...and morons cheered when he went down.

 

[LoyaltyisaCurse]

I was sittingin section ten during the Tillman tribute and was filming the ceremony when the wife of a Cardinals employee started yelling at me that I was not allowed to , " do that."

Who could forget the Rams game when the human false start caused the ten second run off to end the game with Cards set to score the winning points?

 

[Jay Cardinal]

We have had season tickets since 1998. Stayed on the sunny side near where the opposing fans typically sat. My best memory is just how different opposing fans can be. The more successful the franchise, the more unrealistic the fans are. Fans from large markets like Chicago, Philly, and New York had a really difficult time watching objectively. They were difficult to interact with, because they viewed Cards fans as the enemy. They were more apt to yell insults than discuss football.

Then some weeks we would get fans from Cincinnati, Green Bay or Minnesota. Most of these fans had been through some severe losing streak of their own and were much more humble in general. I made many out-of-town friends from this time. Often times they would go out to the bars with myself and friends from the games.

Other than that I remember it being much hotter and the seat situation was horrible. You were severely penalized for sitting next to fat people. If we were having trouble getting elbow room because of too many wide bodies, we would go rent the padded seat backs to guarantee our space. Also the beer situation. Each beer garden was ran by a charity that got to keep .50 of each beer poured. For many small charities this was there primary source of funding. I knew the same ladies (unfortunately can't remember their charity something to do with senior care) from several years of visiting the beer stand near my seats. I was really sad that they didn't allow a similar deal to the charities at the new stadium.

 

[BigRedRage]

Burning bleachers, empty seats, no playoff games etc...

 

[BigRedRage]

buying nose bleeds with my dad and then sitting in the front row on the 40 yard line because the seats were empty

 

[BigRedRage]

I was sittingin section ten during the Tillman tribute and was filming the ceremony when the wife of a Cardinals employee started yelling at me that I was not allowed to , " do that."

Who could forget the Rams game when the human false start caused the ten second run off to end the game with Cards set to score the winning points?

Ugh...friggin big. Worst game ever.

I remember one game there was a couple screwing in the nose bleeds.

 

[Capital Card]

I only had season tickets for two years, 90 & 91. They were in the South End Zone, but I rarely ever sat in those seats. Too much of a sardine can feeling if you ask me, but they were very inexpensive. I'd usually sit up high on the shade side of the field, right under the press box where you could sometimes feel the breeze from the ceiling fans.

Most unique memory was a few years later. I was in town, sitting in the middle of a fairly large brawl in the upper deck - on the sunny side. Two idiot Card fans started crap with the visiting Redskin fans and quickly realized they were vastly outnumbered. They got pummeled. As the police were dragging them off, some Redskin fan yelled at them, "Dude, you just got your !@#@ kicked in your home stadium."

Now that I think about it, that was the last game my wife ever attended in Arizona.

 

[kerouac9]

My favorite memory is the tunnel that both teams would walk down in pre-game and halftime. It's the visitor's lockerroom for ASU games, but both teams dressed there for NFL football--in a building about the size of an interstate rest stop.

Anyway, the players from both teams would walk down this tunnel before kickoff for halftime, and the tunnel went right over the concourse on the north side of the stadium. If you were friendly and funny, security (the lady watching the overpass was Helen) would let you hang out there and talk to players.

My favorite time was when the Giants came to town, and this was when Jason Sehorn was still playing. My buddy and I called him "pretty boy" and asked for his wife's (Angie Harmon) number. He did a little bow. It was awesome.

 

[Duckjake]

buying nose bleeds with my dad and then sitting in the front row on the 40 yard line because the seats were empty

People I'd bring out to the games with me couldn't believe we could get seats for $5.

Or just walk up on game day and get 50 yard line loge seats.

Funniest thing of all though were the opposing fans who would line up outside the gates an hour or so before kickoff when they had reserved seats!

 

[Mulli]

I remember good times going with Papa Mulli, but sitting on aluminum benches with the person sitting in front of you in your lap and the people on either side of you crowding into your "seat" space.

 

[Brian in Mesa]

Also the beer situation. Each beer garden was ran by a charity that got to keep .50 of each beer poured. For many small charities this was there primary source of funding. I knew the same ladies (unfortunately can't remember their charity something to do with senior care) from several years of visiting the beer stand near my seats. I was really sad that they didn't allow a similar deal to the charities at the new stadium.

We always go to the concessions (for sodas) at UOP and several are run by people representing different schools or organizations. Right above their name on their name tag it says what group or school they are representing. Pretty sure our regular one is around Section 129 and they are raising money for St. Mary's.

 

[Cardinals.Ken]

I'm a weird one about this, but I always felt that SDS allowed the Cards to have the edge on hot days. The heat was our only home field advantage, and it was satisfying to watch visiting teams wilt in the fourth quarter...unless they were up on the Cards by 24, in which case, everyone on the field just wanted it to be over.

 

[kerouac9]

We always go to the concessions (for sodas) at UOP and several are run by people representing different schools or organizations. Right above their name on their name tag it says what group or school they are representing. Pretty sure our regular one is around Section 129 and they are raising money for St. Mary's.

This. I've noticed the same thing.

 

[Mulli]

I'm a weird one about this, but I always felt that SDS allowed the Cards to have the edge on hot days. The heat was our only home field advantage, and it was satisfying to watch visiting teams wilt in the fourth quarter...unless they were up on the Cards by 24, in which case, everyone on the field just wanted it to be over.

Whatever advantage there was 1) was lessened because the Cards seemed to play the first 3 of 4 games would be on the road, 2) was never enough of an advantage to make it worth it as a fan sittin in the craphole stadium.

 

[Brian in Mesa]

We loved the years at SDS. Sat/stood in the South End Zone in Section 37. Made a ton of friends that we are still in touch with at least 20 years later. Ran into a guy from our old row of seats in Tampa at the Super Bowl.

Loved the atmosphere. It was a football game and not a country club. The only time security got Gestapo-like was when a ball would inadvertently make it into the stands or someone brought in an inflatable ball and had it bouncing around the crowd. Nothing like UOP with S.A.F.E. and a snitch line for people to call and complain about fans for something as simple as standing and cheering on the team.

I was there for every game at SDS except for two preseason games which were missed each time due to a death in the family. I even went to the Broncos vs. Packers preseason game that took place before the Cardinals moved here - and met Bart Starr.

The old meeting place for people from the board was great. Lower concourse in the North End Zone by the white truck. That's where many of us on ASFN met in person for the first time.

 

[O]

I loved the fireworks, concussion bombs, setting off all the car alarms.

 

[Mulli]

The south end zone was crazy fun. We were on the section just behind the right goalpost. Yes, they felt like sitting in temporary or high school bleachers, but overall a blast.

 

[MadCardDisease]

Not much to like about our time in SDS:

Crazy hot. Never sit on the East side of the stadium our you will die.

A "sweat cloud" would form that was rank.

Metel benches only had like 15" per fans butt so you were packed in tight. It really sucked when those large dudes from Green Bay came into town and overflowed into your seat.

Only seeing 3 wins a year never was fun.

ON the plus side:

Paid $10 a game for upper corner seats and just moved straight to the 50 yard line for every game.

Hot chick flashed her jumbo ta-ta's on the Jumbotron one game. Received a standing ovation as she was escorted from her seat.

Beating the Cowboys during the regular season was like winning the super bowl. The fans rushed the field and tore down the goal posts. Paraded them down Mill Ave. Never seen anything like that for a NFL game.

BigTony doing his endzone dances.