To Viewers In Phoenix Hoping To See The Cardinals' Last Home Game In Sun Devil Stadium On Local TV.....

[Joseph_Gallant]

To Viewers In Phoenix Hoping To See The Cardinals' Last Home Game In Sun Devil Stadium On Local TV.....

....forget about it!

Like the other home games this season, it has been blacked-out (thanks to the maps on Gribble Nation.com).

I had thought that the combination of the Cardinals' opponent, the Philadelphia Eagles, being defending NFC champs (although they will not make the playoffs this year), and the team's last home game in their current stadium would be enough to sell it out and lift the blackout.

I was wrong!

The Cardinals were also the only NFL team this season to have all of it's home games blacked-out (Oakland was the only other team to have home games blacked-out; four Raiders' games didn't sell-out by the deadline).

 

[ixnay]

Re: To Viewers In Phoenix Hoping To See The Cardinals' Last Home Game In Sun Devil Stadium On Local TV.....

> ....forget about it!
>
> Like the other home games this season, it has been
> blacked-out (thanks to the maps on Gribble Nation.com).
>
> I had thought that the combination of the Cardinals'
> opponent, the Philadelphia Eagles, being defending NFC
> champs (although they will not make the playoffs this year),
> and the team's last home game in their current stadium would
> be enough to sell it out and lift the blackout.
>
> I was wrong!
>
> The Cardinals were also the only NFL team this season to
> have all of it's home games blacked-out (Oakland was the
> only other team to have home games blacked-out; four
> Raiders' games didn't sell-out by the deadline).
>

I thought the stadium in Chandler wouldn't be ready until 2008.

By the way, when I get to GN's home page, what do I click to get the NFL TV zone map?

ixnay

 

[ixnay]

Just checked azcardinals.com...

> I thought the stadium in Chandler wouldn't be ready until
> 2008.

...and I was wrong. It'll be ready in 2006. Perhaps I was thinking of the 2008 (2007 season) Super Bowl which will be played in Chandler. Although I may have gotten THAT year wrong. Anyway, my bad on the stadium opening date. {blush]

ixnay

 

[garn91]

Re: To Viewers In Phoenix Hoping To See The Cardinals' Last Home Game In Sun Devil Stadium On Local TV.....

here's the link: http://www.gribblenation.net/personal/jp/2005maps.html

> > ....forget about it!
> >
> > Like the other home games this season, it has been
> > blacked-out (thanks to the maps on Gribble Nation.com).
> >
> > I had thought that the combination of the Cardinals'
> > opponent, the Philadelphia Eagles, being defending NFC
> > champs (although they will not make the playoffs this
> year),
> > and the team's last home game in their current stadium
> would
> > be enough to sell it out and lift the blackout.
> >
> > I was wrong!
> >
> > The Cardinals were also the only NFL team this season to
> > have all of it's home games blacked-out (Oakland was the
> > only other team to have home games blacked-out; four
> > Raiders' games didn't sell-out by the deadline).
> >
>
> I thought the stadium in Chandler wouldn't be ready until
> 2008.
>
> By the way, when I get to GN's home page, what do I click to
> get the NFL TV zone map?
>
> ixnay
>

 

[KeithE]

Re: Just checked azcardinals.com...

> > I thought the stadium in Chandler wouldn't be ready until
> > 2008.
>
> ...and I was wrong. It'll be ready in 2006. Perhaps I was
> thinking of the 2008 (2007 season) Super Bowl which will be
> played in Chandler. Although I may have gotten THAT year
> wrong. Anyway, my bad on the stadium opening date. {blush]
>
> ixnay

The stadium is in Glendale (NW suburb of Phoenix), not Chandler (SE suburb). Opposite end of town.

And, the 2008 Super Bowl will be played in the new stadium. Chances are 99.99999999999999% it won't be a home game for the Cards. :-D

 

[KeithE]

Re: To Viewers In Phoenix Hoping To See The Cardinals' Last Home Game In Sun Devil Stadium On Local TV.....

> ....forget about it!
>
> Like the other home games this season, it has been
> blacked-out (thanks to the maps on Gribble Nation.com).
>
> I had thought that the combination of the Cardinals'
> opponent, the Philadelphia Eagles, being defending NFC
> champs (although they will not make the playoffs this year),
> and the team's last home game in their current stadium would
> be enough to sell it out and lift the blackout.
>
> I was wrong!

Yep, for several of reasons:

1. There aren't enough folks from Philly moving into Phoenix yet. That's changing but it'll be a few more years.

2. The fan-base for the Arizona Cardinals hovers somewhere around zero. OK, I'm exaggerating a wee bit, but of the 20,000-or-so Cards season ticket holders, maybe only 5-10,000 are real Cards fans. Many of those are transplants from St. Louis.

3. Native Arizonans are Dallas Cowboy fans. When I say "native", I mean people that were born here or moved here before about 1980. They are a very small percentage of the state's population now. The Cowboys don't sell out here anymore either.

4. The Cards have had exactly one winning season (1998) since moving from St. Louis.

5. Everybody hates the Bidwills and wishes they'd sell the team. Billy Bowtie's the worst owner in the history of American professional sports.

> The Cardinals were also the only NFL team this season to
> have all of it's home games blacked-out (Oakland was the
> only other team to have home games blacked-out; four
> Raiders' games didn't sell-out by the deadline).

Both teams stink, but Oakland has a more established fan-base. They'll get at least some games sold out as bad as they are. Bad teams back east (Packers, Lions, Jets, Bills) have had decades to build a fan base and actually go to the playoffs on occasion. OK, maybe not the Lions but they're not normally completely putrid either.<P ID="edit"><FONT class="small">Edited by Keith Elster on 12/22/05 07:17 PM.</FONT></P>

 

[ixnay]

Re: Just checked azcardinals.com...

> The stadium is in Glendale (NW suburb of Phoenix), not
> Chandler (SE suburb). Opposite end of town.
>
> And, the 2008 Super Bowl will be played in the new stadium.
> Chances are 99.99999999999999% it won't be a home game for
> the Cards. :-D
>

I don't know why I assumed Chandler. Wasn't the new stadium going to be in Chandler but the deal fell through so it wound up in Glendale?

ixnay

 

[Joseph_Gallant]

Re: Just checked azcardinals.com...

Keith Elster commented:

> (T)he 2008 Super Bowl (XLII) will be played in the new stadium.
> Chances are 99.99999999999999% it won't be a home game for
> the Cards. :-D

And don't be surprised if that game doesn't sell-out either, making it the first Super Bowl since Super Bowl VI way back in 1972 to not be televised in the city where the game is being held.

 

[KeithE]

Re: Just checked azcardinals.com...

> And don't be surprised if that game doesn't sell-out either,
> making it the first Super Bowl since Super Bowl VI way back
> in 1972 to not be televised in the city where the game is
> being held.

Super Bowl VI wasn't televised in New Orleans? There were 81,023 folks in the seats at Tulane Stadium (then-home of the Aints). That wasn't a selllout?

With the current system, all tickets are distributed, guaranteeing that the game will be on worldwide. Between the tickets that go to each team in the league (not only the teams playing), the NFL office, the network carrying the game (who makes sure that their shows' stars are there and can be seen prominently), corporate sponsors, etc., etc., etc., all tickets are gone quickly.

But I think three teams get the highest number of available seats, compared to the other 29 teams: the team who's home stadium the game is being played in, and the teams that are playing.

 

[bjthadj]

Re: Just checked azcardinals.com...

>
> And don't be surprised if that game doesn't sell-out either,
> making it the first Super Bowl since Super Bowl VI way back
> in 1972 to not be televised in the city where the game is
> being held.
>

LOL. You're kidding me right? How on earth could a Super Bowl not sell out?!? I don't have any exact numbers, but casual fans from the host city are quite the minority at a Super Bowl. You have all the corporate guys, all of the league's people, people affiliated with every NFL team, then you have each of the competing teams fans and finally NFL fans who just love the game and pay hundreds of dollars to brokers for a ticket. Come on bro, think a little bit beofre you post sometimes.

 

[oldiesfan]

Re: Just checked azcardinals.com...

> I don't know why I assumed Chandler. Wasn't the
> new stadium going to be in Chandler but the deal
> fell through so it wound up in Glendale?

Dollar-Bill Bidwill's previous plan was to have the
stadium located a couple miles east of the airport.
I'm not sure if it was to be within the city limits
of Phoenix or Tempe, but it was right in the approach
path to one of the runways!

Too bad their westward move is only to KRUX Glendale.
Better if it was 370 miles west. They and El-Lay
deserve each other.

 

[ixnay]

Re: Just checked azcardinals.com...

> LOL. You're kidding me right? How on earth could a Super
> Bowl not sell out?!?

Super Bowl I in LA didn't sell out. 2/3 of the tix were sold. But the game was hastily arranged after the NFL/AFL peace pact of 1966 amd tix were distributed differently.

ixnay

 

[KeithE]

Re: Just checked azcardinals.com...

> > I don't know why I assumed Chandler. Wasn't the
> > new stadium going to be in Chandler but the deal
> > fell through so it wound up in Glendale?
>
> Dollar-Bill Bidwill's previous plan was to have the
> stadium located a couple miles east of the airport.
> I'm not sure if it was to be within the city limits
> of Phoenix or Tempe, but it was right in the approach
> path to one of the runways!

It was inside the Tempe city limits, in fact about a mile from where I work. But it wasn't any more of a problem than the tall buildings (and the ballpark) in downtown Phoenix are at the same distance on the other side of the airport.

> Too bad their westward move is only to KRUX Glendale.
> Better if it was 370 miles west. They and El-Lay
> deserve each other.

Bowtie Billy tried that in 1996. The folks in LA said they'd take the Cards but Bidwill had to stay in Phoenix. In other words, he would have had to sell the team - something he'll never do, unfortunately.

I have a better idea: Keep the Cards in Phoenix and ship the Bidwills to LA. After all, LA already has Donald Sterling (LA Clippers owner). What's another bad owner in the same city? Chicago's had several at once (Tribune Company, the McCaskeys, Jerry Reinsdorf, Dollar Bill Wirtz) for many years.

 

[bhayes1016]

Re: Just checked azcardinals.com...

> Super Bowl VI wasn't televised in New Orleans? There were
> 81,023 folks in the seats at Tulane Stadium (then-home of
> the Aints). That wasn't a selllout?

Back then ALL games, regular season, playoffs and Super Bowl, were blacked out in the city in which they were played, sold out or not.

 

[EnbyCee]

Re: To Viewers In Phoenix Hoping To See The Cardinals' Last Home Game In Sun Devil Stadium On Local TV.....

> Yep, for several of reasons:
>
> 1. There aren't enough folks from Philly moving into
> Phoenix yet. That's changing but it'll be a few more years.

Perhaps if the Eagles were still in contention this year, at least a few thousand Philadelphians might've taken the opportunity to have a sunny holiday weekend.

However, I don't think the final NFL game at Sun Devil Stadium, which ain't exactly Lambeau, Soldier, or even 3Com/Candlestick/whatever it's called this year as far as historic NFL venues go, is much of a draw in and of itself.


>
> 3. Native Arizonans are Dallas Cowboy fans. When I say
> "native", I mean people that were born here or moved here
> before about 1980. They are a very small percentage of the
> state's population now. The Cowboys don't sell out here
> anymore either.

I thought the Cowboys had more of a hold on Arizona than this, but apparently not. Looking at Gribble Nation's maps, there were a couple of times when stations in Phoenix could have carried the Cowboys game this season with no conflict with the Cards, but went with another game instead. On the other hand, it looks like their games get shown in Tuscon whenever possible. Must be more "natives" down that way.

 

[JeeperOne]

Re: Just checked azcardinals.com...

Hi everyone:

> > > I thought the stadium in Chandler wouldn't be ready
> until
> > > 2008.
> >
> > ...and I was wrong. It'll be ready in 2006. Perhaps I
> was
> > thinking of the 2008 (2007 season) Super Bowl which will
> be
> > played in Chandler. Although I may have gotten THAT year
> > wrong. Anyway, my bad on the stadium opening date.
> {blush]
> >
> > ixnay
>
> The stadium is in Glendale (NW suburb of Phoenix), not
> Chandler (SE suburb). Opposite end of town.
>
> And, the 2008 Super Bowl will be played in the new stadium.
> Chances are 99.99999999999999% it won't be a home game for
> the Cards. :-D

Heh! Not unless they suddenly get lucky and pull a '90 Redskins job... *LOL!*

Cheers for now & Happy Holidays <P ID="signature">______________

http://patspodcast.blogspot.com/
Radio? Uhh.....What's THAT?? </P>

 

[rugrats1]

Re: Just checked azcardinals.com...

> > Super Bowl VI wasn't televised in New Orleans? There were
>
> > 81,023 folks in the seats at Tulane Stadium (then-home of
> > the Aints). That wasn't a selllout?
>
> Back then ALL games, regular season, playoffs and Super
> Bowl, were blacked out in the city in which they were
> played, sold out or not.
>

Even today, playoffs and Super Bowls are subject to blackout, but only if they're not sold out, like the regular season games. But, yiu can always count on them being sold out, due to their importance.

And when was the last time a playoff or Super Bowl wasn't sold out?

 

[DrBear]

Re: Just checked azcardinals.com...

> > > Super Bowl VI wasn't televised in New Orleans? There
> were
> >
> > > 81,023 folks in the seats at Tulane Stadium (then-home
> of
> > > the Aints). That wasn't a selllout?
> >
> > Back then ALL games, regular season, playoffs and Super
> > Bowl, were blacked out in the city in which they were
> > played, sold out or not.
> >
>
In fact it was the last blackout. The first Super Bowl without a blackout was Supe VII (the Garo Yepremenian game). The following year, the "no blackout if the game's sold out" rule started.

 

[ShawnHill]

Re: Just checked azcardinals.com...

> Bowtie Billy tried that in 1996. The folks in LA said
> they'd take the Cards but Bidwill had to stay in Phoenix.
> In other words, he would have had to sell the team -
> something he'll never do, unfortunately.
>
> I have a better idea: Keep the Cards in Phoenix and ship
> the Bidwills to LA. After all, LA already has Donald
> Sterling (LA Clippers owner). What's another bad owner in
> the same city? Chicago's had several at once (Tribune
> Company, the McCaskeys, Jerry Reinsdorf, Dollar Bill Wirtz)
> for many years.
>
If you ask Dodgers fans, you can add their owner Frank McCourt to that short list of bad owners in Los Angeles, and if the Rams and Raiders were still here, then you add Al Davis and Georgia Frontiere as well. Even though I'm a Clips fan and enjoying the good start (although they hit a skid lately), I despise Donald Sterling, and besides....Sterling's kinda of a weird dude to begin with. Speaking of Bowtie Bill, I heard a funny story the another day on the radio about how he came into owning the Cardinals. Well, first off, Bill Bidwell was adopted and his adopted family owned a brewery in the Midwest (I believe Chicago, since the franchise originated there) and after the senior Bidwell's death, Bill and his adopted brother fought over who would get the team and who would get the brewery. The brother wanted the brewery, and his reasoning why Bill didn't deserve the brewery was because he was adopted. So, after it was all said and done, the brother (don't know the name) got the brewery and Bill ended up with the football team. We know the rest of the story...

 

[KeithE]

Re: Just checked azcardinals.com...

> If you ask Dodgers fans, you can add their owner Frank
> McCourt to that short list of bad owners in Los Angeles, and
> if the Rams and Raiders were still here, then you add Al
> Davis and Georgia Frontiere as well. Even though I'm a
> Clips fan and enjoying the good start (although they hit a
> skid lately), I despise Donald Sterling, and
> besides....Sterling's kinda of a weird dude to begin with.

McCourt's no prize either. Neither was Fox or Disney when they owned the Dodgers and Angels, respectively. TV networks shouldn't own baseball teams. The Yankees' low point was under CBS ownership in the '60s.

> Speaking of Bowtie Bill, I heard a funny story the another
> day on the radio about how he came into owning the
> Cardinals. Well, first off, Bill Bidwell was adopted and
> his adopted family owned a brewery in the Midwest (I believe
> Chicago, since the franchise originated there) and after the
> senior Bidwell's death, Bill and his adopted brother fought
> over who would get the team and who would get the brewery.
> The brother wanted the brewery, and his reasoning why Bill
> didn't deserve the brewery was because he was adopted. So,
> after it was all said and done, the brother (don't know the
> name) got the brewery and Bill ended up with the football
> team. We know the rest of the story...

Actually, Charles Bidwill (Bill's dad) was a lawyer who bought the Cards in 1933. He'd been a VP and part-owner of the Bears up to that time. When he died in 1947, his wife Violet got the team.

Both Bill and his brother Stormy (Charles Jr.) were adopted but they didn't know it until Violet died in 1962 and her 2nd husband tried to get control of the team. He wasn't successful and they both ran the Cards until Bowtie Billy bought Stormy's share out in 1972. Stormy kept Sportsman's Park racetrack in Chicago.

I don't think any of the Bidwills had a stake in any brewery, either in Chicago or St. Louis. The baseball Cardinals were owned for 50 years by Anheuser-Busch but that's the only brewery-Cardinals connection I know of.