Cardinals Stadium has fans seeing red (on TV)

By Peter Altman  |   Wednesday, September 13, 2006  |  Comments( 0 )

Arizona Cardinals
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Before the Arizona Cardinals' 34-27 victory over the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday, the same scene played out in countless homes across the Valley of the Sun. As Arizona took the field at Cardinals Stadium for the first time ever, the children of the Cardinal faithful shifted their attention from the television to their parents and asked with confused eyes: "What's with the red uniforms?"

You can't blame the kids. Network blackouts due to unsold seats have made televised home games a rarity for the Cardinals. When Tex Schramm started the Cowboy tradition of wearing white at home, he wanted to give the Dallas fans an opportunity to see the home uniforms of the visiting teams. Tex could never have imagined that, for a generation of Cardinals fans, it would provide the rare opportunity to see the red jerseys on television. Sure, if they really wanted to see the Cardinals play in red, they could have bought one of the countless unsold tickets at Sun Devil Stadium -- but pay to sit in that dump and watch the Cardinals?

With the new air-conditioned stadium and the star-studded offensive cast, there is now an abundance of people who are willing to pay to see the Cardinals. In fact, the Cardinals' Web site proudly proclaims that 2006 season tickets are sold out and offers the visitor an invitation to join the waiting list.

Those who managed to secure tickets to the inaugural game on Sunday were treated to a show. The Cardinals' offensive stars carried the day. Kurt Warner looked like the Kurt Warner who won two MVPs. Larry Fitzgerald made catch after catch, while Anquan Boldin and Edgerrin James each found the end zone. The Arizona fans left with smiles on their faces as they imagined what the rest of the season might have in store

If there appears to be a good football team in the desert, it just might be a mirage. The league minimized the chances of the Cardinals laying an egg in their new nest by serving up the lowly 49ers in Week 1. Published reports have suggested that the league owed the Cardinals a favor for giving up a home game to play in Mexico last season. The NFL repaid the favor, according to unnamed league sources, by letting the Cards handpick the first visitors to Cardinals Stadium. They almost got more than they bargained for in the 49ers, which came within a Hail Mary of spoiling what had looked early on like an easy Cardinals victory.

Now the time has come for the Cardinals to take the show on the road against the Seattle Seahawks, and questions abound. What are the chances the Cardinals' defense is going to be able to stop the Seahawks' Shaun Alexander when it let Frank Gore run like Jim Brown? Everyone knew the offensive line was going to be bad, but few suspected the defense would have such serious problems stopping an anemic 49ers offense. Against the Cardinals, Alex Smith actually managed to look like a pro quarterback.

The 49ers' feeble pass rush forced Kurt Warner to get rid of the ball so quickly it looked like he was allergic to pigskin. It begs the question: How long will this smoke-and-mirror offensive line hold up against a tough Seattle front? Or, simply put: How long until Kurt Warner is sitting dazed on the sideline as the desert sun rises on the Leinart Era?

The Cardinals' skill players are for real. If the offensive line is ever good enough to give Warner time and Edgerrin James room, the Cards would easily ride their soft schedule right into the playoffs. For now, the Cardinals fans should simply enjoy the new stadium, the exciting playmakers and the pleasure of knowing that they will see plenty of Cardinals red on television.

Get weekly Arizona Cardinals coverage at RealFootball365.com
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