What this current success means to the Cards organization

[Russ Smith]

Couldn't see a better example of it than on the 49ers postgame show today in the Bay Area. The guest is Tim McDonald and he's talking about owning a restaurant in Fresno and how he watches every 49ers game there and wishes he could attend more games.

Tim played 13 NFL seasons , 7 in SF, and 6 for the Cards. The first 6 games of his career were of course with the Cards.

Now admittedly he won a lot more games with SF but the fact that he doesn't even seem to acknowledge he played for the Cards tells you how bad things were. But now it's a complete reversal, we're the 2 time Division champs, they haven't won in years and I get the feeling that players like McDonald won't get want to leave as often these days.

AW is the perfect example of that. Guys that leave now are mainly leaving to get overpaid(Antonio Smith) not because they are desperate to leave.

 

[vince56]

Heck, Jamir Miller is all over Fox 10 as an analyst now for the Cards, Rob Moore does a lot of radio with them. Larry Centers and Aeneas Williams have been seen at games, and Aeneas is obviously still a big fan based on his speech last year.

There are a lot of former Cards that still participate with the organization, I think that will definitely grow in the next 10 years once these current Cardinals that have had years of success here (amazing!) and been here for a long time (Berry, Wilson, Warner, etc.) start retiring.

 

[BullheadCardFan]

This is like the MasterCard commercial where the final answer is priceless.

 

[ajcardfan]

It killed me when we lost McDonald. Thank God, those things don't happen anymore.

 

[Buckybird]

Heck, Jamir Miller is all over Fox 10 as an analyst now for the Cards, Rob Moore does a lot of radio with them. Larry Centers and Aeneas Williams have been seen at games, and Aeneas is obviously still a big fan based on his speech last year.

There are a lot of former Cards that still participate with the organization, I think that will definitely grow in the next 10 years once these current Cardinals that have had years of success here (amazing!) and been here for a long time (Berry, Wilson, Warner, etc.) start retiring.

does Roy Green still have a show in the valley?

 

[Russ Smith]

It killed me when we lost McDonald. Thank God, those things don't happen anymore.

Yep and before someone points it out, yes I do know Tim is FROM Fresno, my point is when he left for SF he was always calling out the Cards organization and even years after he's retired it's pretty clear he doesn't seem particularly interested in the Cards.

But those days are changing, we're not losing key guys because we don't want to pay and we're not losing key guys who just want to get out and will take less money to get out(like Miller did after the 98 season).

in general the guys we're losing are either asking for too much money, or past their prime. Obviously we'd love to keep Dansby but if he continues to ask for too much he'll leave, not because we're being cheap but because we're being fiscally sound and will have a plan to replace him.

For so long this team spent most of its high picks replacing key players they lost to FA.

 

[Buckybird]

For so long this team spent most of its high picks replacing key players they lost to FA.

and didn't draft to well either

 

[PJ1]

and didn't draft to well either

And to be honest the players were treated like crap.

 

[dylanbw]

And to be honest the players were treated like crap.

...yes, it was very sad and depressing when players were complaining about being charged for stuff like cleats, socks, and towels....

 

[Big D]

It killed me when we lost McDonald. Thank God, those things don't happen anymore.

Ken Harvey was the one that killed me. That one really tested my mettle as a Cards fan. Not only did we lose him, we lost him to a division rival and he just killed us everytime we played the Skins. I think he went on to have like 4 straight pro-bowl seasons after signing with Washington. Still irks me to this day.

 

[ajcardfan]

Ken Harvey was the one that killed me. That one really tested my mettle as a Cards fan. Not only did we lose him, we lost him to a division rival and he just killed us everytime we played the Skins. I think he went on to have like 4 straight pro-bowl seasons after signing with Washington. Still irks me to this day.

Yeah, and even worse, Jay Novacek going to the Cowboys. Jeez, we all must've had some kind of mental illness to have hung in there during those times.

 

[TruColor]

Yeah, and even worse, Jay Novacek going to the Cowboys. Jeez, we all must've had some kind of mental illness to have hung in there during those times.

Drinking helps.

 

[conraddobler]

They mentioned this yesterday at the game, how the culture has changed.

It's truly amazing what has changed and a ton of it is directly traceable to Michael Bidwill.

The announcers weren't talking about the new stadium, I think they visited the FO and they were talking about how professional it is now compared to years past.

It truly is a remarkable turn around and frankly I'm still not used to it but I do like it

 

[football karma]

Last night during the Skins vs Cowboys game they were talking about the various coaches that have coached the Redskins.

Collinsworth noted this: one of the problems was that they went from power running with Schotteheimer, to fun n gun with Spurrier, back to power running with Gibbs, and to the west coast offense with Zorn. Each scheme emphasizes different skills for all 11 positions on offense. Just about the time the young players you drafted for - lets say -- Spurrier's fun n gun-- are ready to contribute, the Redskins shifted to power running with Joe Gibbs.

I thought this was the Cardinals issue in a nutshell. There was a reference to Jay Novacek in this thread. Well -- Novacek was drafted by Gene Stallings. Stallings was fired and replaced by Joe Bugel in 1990. Guess which player was put on Plan B free agency that offseason because he didnt quite fit the Bugel's run first system? Jay Novacek.

 

[Buckybird]

Yeah, and even worse, Jay Novacek going to the Cowboys. Jeez, we all must've had some kind of mental illness to have hung in there during those times.

& Robert Awalt

 

[NeverSayDieFan]

The FUNNY thing to me, RE: personel "moves"...

is that when one of our players is "asking for the moon" (ie; Pace, Dansby) and we let him go WE are called "CHEAP". BUT, when the Steelers do it. (ie: Alan Fanacea) it's called "GOOD business." I've always heard that "reality" can be twisted to anyone's perception of it. THE NFL propaganda machine is a PERFECT example of this! GO CARDS!

 

[Duckjake]

& Robert Awalt

And sadly it never seemed to work the other direction.

Yessir the good old days when as soon as a player signed a Cardinal contract the guy would grow ten thumbs and two left feet or would set up residence in the medical tent.

 

[Catfish]

Great points Russ------Best of all is that the Cards have gone all out to make this current version of Football Cardinals -----FAMILY FRIENDLY-----. This goes from the very stadium in which they play, with all its visible history and graphic design out in the open to embrace those who have gone before, and to encourage newbies to look into its history. They also have a superlative venue for family friendly tailgating on the great lawn. Best of all, if they err, it seems to be on the side of being family friendly, as security is quick to dissolve ANY confrontation. This makes it extremely easy to assymilate children into the mix so that the loyalty and culture is grown from within over time to ensure a deep and lasting fan base. That is not lost on me, and I see Michael's handprint all over that. I really think they want this franchise to be not just fan friendly, but fan family.

The players are being selected with that certain character, not just a bunch of characters. Even the cheerleaders have become first class, and CLASSY. this can be seen especially with their travelling showteam. The development of Big Red is just frosting on the cake, especially when he goes out into the community, like visiting the hospitals with the players.

To me, all this points to creating the best venue possible to present the franchise, and the best possible venue to grow it through time with family loyalty and generational appeal.