Catfish
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- Aug 14, 2006
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Several posters have noted that despite the complete 'whuppin' that our Red Birds layed on the 'Niners, two of our offensive linemen had an atrocious start to that game. Most were alarmed that Jared Veldheer was initially penalized twice for jumping the count, and then forced into a holding call, immediately after when he failed to get off when the ball was snapped due to missing another snap count. Massie too had a bad beginning, but did not draw the same penalties. Arians was later to learn that the opponents crowd noise prevented the ones on the perimeter of our O-line, (Massie and Veldheer), from hearing the signal calls at the line of scrimmage and that it required a silent snap count to fix the problem.
In one of his presser's after that game, Arians remarked that he was saddened that we allowed so many tickets to get into the hands of our opponents. He lamented that hopefully that will soon be fixed. Sadly, that is not very likely to happen due to a number of reasons, but the most glaring is that it will take more than just one generation of fans to create complete loyalty to our beloved Cardinals.
One needs only to look back at what our fast growing valley was like as it longed for sports recognition just before our Cardinals arrived from St. Louis. We had wildly loyal Sun Devil fans who were clamoring for greater recognition on the national front, and with no professional football team here, it was an easy sell for Jerry jones and his 'Cowboys' from Dallas, (a very natural fit), for this wildly western and fiercely independent state. For the first ten years or so of Cardinals Football here in the valley, there were easily twice as many Cowboys fans as Cardinals fans here.
Then came the situation created by a burgeoning spring baseball training season that was drawing more and more winter visitors into the valley. As they began to retire, they too, began purchasing tickets to Cardinals games, (just not Cardinals tickets). They each brought their loyalties with them from their snow burdened states and cities, and bought tickets in droves to celebrate some of what they missed from their previous lives in the cold country. Seldom were there as many Cardinals fans at the games in Sun Devil Stadium on Sundays as there were opponents fans.
Then, the league, and its owners began to expand and cater to Television, and by selling advertising, began to lure big business into the football market which suddenly hiked the price of season tickets in most franchises, some of which simply out stretched the pockets of everyday home town fans. Corporations began gobbling up season tickets in droves and giving them to prospective clients as perks, once again watering down the ability of the Cardinals to sell season tickets to loyal local fans. At about that same time, (due to great advertising of the Valley itself to corporations), and the fact that many corporations began using Phoenix as a convention center for their employees and clients, many large corporations began re-locating to the valley of the sun and all that it offered to lovers of the sun in winter. Yet again more season tickets were sold to people whose loyalty was not to our Cardinals.
Now we have a fan base that can fill the stadium with red, but an economy which precludes the average family head from being able to afford taking the family to stadium with season tickets, or even for a single game in many cases. Meanwhile, corporations still use the season tickets as 'tax write-off' perks for their employees, (many who simply re-sell them for profit to opponents fans on game days), or who simply don't care enough about the sport to see that those valuable tickets end up in the hands of fans loyal to the Big Red.
I see this as an on-going problem that will linger for years, until the league, the owners, and the players association, can once again find a way to make season tickets affordable to the average head of household here in the valley. I personally do not see a way around this situation, and the only thing that I can stress is making sure that the real Cardinals fans are educated enough about the game so as not assist the opponents when they cheer, by simply cheering because the opponents are.
In one of his presser's after that game, Arians remarked that he was saddened that we allowed so many tickets to get into the hands of our opponents. He lamented that hopefully that will soon be fixed. Sadly, that is not very likely to happen due to a number of reasons, but the most glaring is that it will take more than just one generation of fans to create complete loyalty to our beloved Cardinals.
One needs only to look back at what our fast growing valley was like as it longed for sports recognition just before our Cardinals arrived from St. Louis. We had wildly loyal Sun Devil fans who were clamoring for greater recognition on the national front, and with no professional football team here, it was an easy sell for Jerry jones and his 'Cowboys' from Dallas, (a very natural fit), for this wildly western and fiercely independent state. For the first ten years or so of Cardinals Football here in the valley, there were easily twice as many Cowboys fans as Cardinals fans here.
Then came the situation created by a burgeoning spring baseball training season that was drawing more and more winter visitors into the valley. As they began to retire, they too, began purchasing tickets to Cardinals games, (just not Cardinals tickets). They each brought their loyalties with them from their snow burdened states and cities, and bought tickets in droves to celebrate some of what they missed from their previous lives in the cold country. Seldom were there as many Cardinals fans at the games in Sun Devil Stadium on Sundays as there were opponents fans.
Then, the league, and its owners began to expand and cater to Television, and by selling advertising, began to lure big business into the football market which suddenly hiked the price of season tickets in most franchises, some of which simply out stretched the pockets of everyday home town fans. Corporations began gobbling up season tickets in droves and giving them to prospective clients as perks, once again watering down the ability of the Cardinals to sell season tickets to loyal local fans. At about that same time, (due to great advertising of the Valley itself to corporations), and the fact that many corporations began using Phoenix as a convention center for their employees and clients, many large corporations began re-locating to the valley of the sun and all that it offered to lovers of the sun in winter. Yet again more season tickets were sold to people whose loyalty was not to our Cardinals.
Now we have a fan base that can fill the stadium with red, but an economy which precludes the average family head from being able to afford taking the family to stadium with season tickets, or even for a single game in many cases. Meanwhile, corporations still use the season tickets as 'tax write-off' perks for their employees, (many who simply re-sell them for profit to opponents fans on game days), or who simply don't care enough about the sport to see that those valuable tickets end up in the hands of fans loyal to the Big Red.
I see this as an on-going problem that will linger for years, until the league, the owners, and the players association, can once again find a way to make season tickets affordable to the average head of household here in the valley. I personally do not see a way around this situation, and the only thing that I can stress is making sure that the real Cardinals fans are educated enough about the game so as not assist the opponents when they cheer, by simply cheering because the opponents are.
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