Arizona Cardinals Need a Fan Fest

I went to the Arizona Diamondbacks Fan Fest today at Chase Field.  The turnout was fantastic.  So much so, every line was long from autograph lines to concession lines.  I expected a lot of people, but the turnout today even surprised me.  This is where I think the Arizona Cardinals have missed the boat.  They should have one of these at University of Phoenix Stadium.  Seriously.

Ok, yes I know they have an equivalent fan day in Flagstaff at Northern Arizona University during scrimmage day.  They do an autograph session and then have a scrimmage on a beautiful summer day in Flagstaff.  That requires thousands of people to cram onto a small field on a small campus (compared to other state universities).  Oh and it requires a 140 mile drive from downtown Phoenix and further from the suburbs.

Even living in the east valley, I would make the 35 mile trek to Glendale for a Cards fest.  Of course they would have to do it right.  To get the most out of attendance from players, you’d have to do it probably right after training camp ends and before the regular season ends.  Yes, it means a roof closed and not an open roof like Chase was today on a beautiful late winter/early spring day.  We’d all survive.

Fans eat stuff like this up.  From the looks of it, people really enjoyed themselves out there today.  There should be no reason why it wouldn’t be the same for the Cardinals.  Sure, winning helps, but in the NFL, I think you get the attendance whether the Cards were perennial winners or losers.