With so many fans wishing for new uniforms, there was one alternate jersey that was never worn.
The Arizona Cardinals had a blue stripe on their uniform ever since the 90’s into the early 2000s. There was also blue that came from the state flag on the side of the jersey- arguably the best jersey the team’s ever had. But there’s still one jersey that the team never wore. That’s right, the Arizona Cardinals blue uniform technically existed.
Growing up, I got to play ESPN NFL 2K5 on the original Xbox and I’d spend a lot of time looking at how many alternate jerseys each team had. Then, at the very end of the Cardinals options was the blue alternate. It had the same design of the team’s former away jersey, but just with a blue base and white numbers- state flag and stripes included.
*Please excuse picture quality*
Arizona Cardinals blue uniform as an alternate jersey in the video game ESPN NFL 2K5.
As you can see, the stripes that would normally be blue/red/blue have now been inverted to white/red/white. A simple google search has multiple images of Puma and Reebok being the ones who made these rare beauties. Of course the team never came close to wearing them, and there are some old forum posts discussing the legitimacy of these as an option for the team.
For the actual appearance in the video game itself, the best shot I could find is this website where it has a picture of every team’s alternates. On the website it shows up as the second option, but I am more than certain it was all the way at the back as previously mentioned.
This is obviously a complete opposite of the team’s actual colors, and some fans may not like it. Maybe the “Arizona BlueJays” wouldn’t have been a bad name either. I personally think the Arizona Cardinals blue uniform would have been a great change up, or at least a good a “April Fools” joke. Regardless of which jersey you like, go get yourself a spin on 2K5 if you haven’t done so.
It’s easily the best football video game of all time, and what Madden wishes it could be.