Just two words: Fiesta Bowl.
That’s all you need to know about this story. Because of the uprising the Fiesta Bowl has caused regarding freebies having been given to Arizona lawmakers, now of course the story comes out that Arizona Cardinals have had the same practice as well. As far as I am concerned, there should be no concern.
Listen, these lawmakers did nothing wrong. Fair or not, fact is these men and women were given tickets that they were allowed to receive as long as everyone in the legislature received them. That happened. Do I think the tickets maybe could have been used for a better purpose? Sure. Do I think its fair that they got free tickets the rest of us don’t have access to? Yes and no.
See, getting those tickets is a perk of that job. I get that. It is a benefit they get and as long as they report the gift, if the legally have to, then there should be no issue. We all have job where we get benefits others don’t. I get bonuses at work. My wife doesn’t. I get free food every now and then from my company. My wife doesn’t. My wife can come into work for 18 seconds and leave and get credit for the whole day. I can’t do that. See….life isn’t always fair, but it’s all about the beast of the job you have and do.
The Cards have been giving lawmakers tickets for years. It’s only an issue now because of the way the Fiesta Bowl ran its business for years. Of course, now the bowl is asking for reimbursements, of course with marked up invoices, which is another whole crock of a story that I won’t get into here.
I say, get over it. Sure, I wish I got my hands on those tickets, but I’m not in the Arizona Legislature. I accept the ticket giveaway. It was legal, not necessarily the best way to do business, but still legal and been going on for years. Oh by the way, up until two years ago, I used to get free Cards tickets from my company once a season. Want to scrutinize that? I didn’t think so. This is a non-issue.