Arizona still shows love for their Cardinals
Oct 6, 2016, 5:05 AM | Updated: 9:45 am
(Facebook Photo)
(Facebook Photo)
Despite a slow start this season, Arizonans still show off love for their football team.
There are now more than 70,000 cars sporting Arizona Cardinals license plates.
According to data just released to KTAR by the Arizona Department of Transportation, that’s nearly five-times more than Diamondbacks, Coyotes and Suns plates combined.
| Team | FY 2013 | FY 2014 | FY 2015 | FY 2016 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cardinals | 42,862 | 51,495 | 59,738 | 70,381 |
| Suns | 2,313 | 2,416 | 4,231 | 4,345 |
| Diamondbacks | 9,403 | 9,646 | 8,923 | 9,178 |
| Coyotes | N/A | N/A | N/A | 3,032 (plates not offered until FY 2016) |
“It’s obvious that the Cardinals own this town,” said John Gambadoro with Arizona Sport’s 98.7 FM. “The fan base has embraced the Cardinals and a lot of it has to do with just the success that they’ve had ever since they moved into the new stadium.”
The numbers also represent a lack of success, he added.
The Diamondbacks have gone through a series of rough patches since winning the World Series in 2001, while the Phoenix Suns are currently in a rebuilding phase.
“It’s crazy, because before they got into the new stadium they had only sold out like 11 or 12 games in all the years that they were here … and most of those games were (Dallas) Cowboys games,” Gambadoro said.
Now, the Cardinals have sold out all of their home games (more than 100) since opening the new stadium in 2006.
“The sellout obviously has to do with a commitment from ownership to win,” he explained. “Part of that is putting a new stadium in, the other part of that is putting a good product on the field.”
And even though the Cardinals have started the season 1-3, Gambadoro doesn’t think fans will turn away.
“In the past, I think there was a love-hate and now I think it’s just a love-fest,” he said. “This has become one of the better markets for football.”
The fan-base will continue to grow, and there’s no reason why they’re going to slow down, he said.
“They’ve got a team, even though they’re off to a rough start right now, that is a playoff contender this year and should be for the next few years,” he expressed.
