1
00:00:06,160 --> 00:00:08,799
Speaker 1: I can't look back and say for sure we would

2
00:00:08,800 --> 00:00:11,039
Speaker 1: not have won the vote without that win, but at

3
00:00:11,080 --> 00:00:14,560
Speaker 1: sure as hell help Washington. At the Cardinals one yard line,

4
00:00:15,040 --> 00:00:18,240
Speaker 1: Jeff George the quarterback given to Davis again, he's bens

5
00:00:18,239 --> 00:00:20,240
Speaker 1: and he fumbles it into the ends of the Cardinals

6
00:00:20,239 --> 00:00:22,320
Speaker 1: have it. Nia scoops it up. How There comes in

7
00:00:23,360 --> 00:00:25,200
Speaker 1: and he takes all run. Now I'm jumping up. I'm

8
00:00:25,239 --> 00:00:28,320
Speaker 1: like run and he is run. He's a big field.

9
00:00:28,480 --> 00:00:32,080
Speaker 1: He's going, he's going. He's good. I remember Nias running

10
00:00:32,159 --> 00:00:36,400
Speaker 1: really really really facts That's what I remember, blurred like

11
00:00:36,400 --> 00:00:39,800
Speaker 1: like that he scores. It felt a little bit like fate,

12
00:00:40,320 --> 00:00:42,360
Speaker 1: both with a fumble recovery in the game itself, the

13
00:00:42,440 --> 00:00:45,680
Speaker 1: Cardinals had something that most politicians don't, a real big

14
00:00:45,760 --> 00:00:49,720
Speaker 1: national platform just days before the election. That was really

15
00:00:49,760 --> 00:00:52,800
Speaker 1: interesting to go around and as we called it, stumping

16
00:00:52,960 --> 00:00:55,760
Speaker 1: for the new stadium. Yeah we shook hands and kiss babies,

17
00:00:56,080 --> 00:00:58,960
Speaker 1: Yeah we did. It was worth it, though, it was

18
00:00:59,320 --> 00:01:03,040
Speaker 1: totally worth it, because no doubt it was a long

19
00:01:03,120 --> 00:01:07,279
Speaker 1: time coming, and it was a long way. One hundred

20
00:01:07,360 --> 00:01:12,639
Speaker 1: four yards victory and a vote. This is Cardinals Folk Tales,

21
00:01:12,840 --> 00:01:15,880
Speaker 1: presented by seventy two sold. Where we go in depth

22
00:01:16,000 --> 00:01:20,240
Speaker 1: into Cardinal's history, all time anecdotes, through the recollections and

23
00:01:20,400 --> 00:01:23,240
Speaker 1: memories of those who lived it or in my case,

24
00:01:23,560 --> 00:01:26,400
Speaker 1: those who covered it. My name is Paul KELVC, Cardinal's

25
00:01:26,400 --> 00:01:29,720
Speaker 1: sideline reporter. The year was two thousand and as the

26
00:01:29,760 --> 00:01:35,000
Speaker 1: headline screamed, Arizona wins dot dot dot a new stadium.

27
00:01:35,319 --> 00:01:38,080
Speaker 1: Were so excited to win the game, And it was

28
00:01:38,080 --> 00:01:41,240
Speaker 1: probably really the next morning that I thought about the

29
00:01:41,280 --> 00:01:43,880
Speaker 1: actual vote coming up. I can definitely say it didn't

30
00:01:43,959 --> 00:01:48,160
Speaker 1: hurt that the Cardinals sealed a victory days before they

31
00:01:48,160 --> 00:01:50,640
Speaker 1: asked voters to fund the stadium for them. I mean

32
00:01:50,640 --> 00:01:53,640
Speaker 1: it was by the slimmest of margins that then had passed.

33
00:01:53,840 --> 00:01:58,360
Speaker 1: Proposition three zero two was tagged as Arizona wins. Now,

34
00:01:58,400 --> 00:02:01,560
Speaker 1: I'm here to tell you a Zona one, thank you.

35
00:02:13,840 --> 00:02:17,639
Speaker 1: Would a new century yield a new stadium again? It

36
00:02:17,680 --> 00:02:20,200
Speaker 1: was a year two thousand. We had all survived y

37
00:02:20,280 --> 00:02:25,080
Speaker 1: two k. Next challenge tackle this stadium issue. Ongoing for

38
00:02:25,320 --> 00:02:27,760
Speaker 1: more than a decade, the Cardinals have been seeking a

39
00:02:27,880 --> 00:02:31,640
Speaker 1: home they could call their own. Here's former Cardinals receivers

40
00:02:31,720 --> 00:02:35,000
Speaker 1: Anthony Edwards and Frank Sanders. I feel there was something

41
00:02:35,040 --> 00:02:37,800
Speaker 1: that was needed, and a lot of these players wanted

42
00:02:37,840 --> 00:02:42,240
Speaker 1: a new stadium. A new stadium would be absolutely amazing

43
00:02:42,320 --> 00:02:45,400
Speaker 1: for the fans here. It it'd be great for us

44
00:02:45,440 --> 00:02:48,639
Speaker 1: as an organization in regards to, you know, just being

45
00:02:48,639 --> 00:02:50,920
Speaker 1: able to draw guys here but feeling like you got

46
00:02:50,960 --> 00:02:54,560
Speaker 1: your at home. Ever since relocating to Arizona in nineteen

47
00:02:54,600 --> 00:02:57,880
Speaker 1: eighty eight, the Cardinals have been sharing Sun Devil Stadium

48
00:02:57,960 --> 00:03:02,400
Speaker 1: with Arizona State. But before they could go new home shopping,

49
00:03:02,639 --> 00:03:05,079
Speaker 1: they needed to find a home for Prop three O

50
00:03:05,240 --> 00:03:09,560
Speaker 1: two on the Arizona ballot. Cardinals owner Michael Bidwell, you know,

51
00:03:09,600 --> 00:03:11,920
Speaker 1: at the time, and it was really October, in September,

52
00:03:11,960 --> 00:03:14,560
Speaker 1: we had passed the bill out of the legislature, passed

53
00:03:14,560 --> 00:03:17,280
Speaker 1: by one vote out of the Arizona Legislature, that we

54
00:03:17,320 --> 00:03:20,800
Speaker 1: could go to the ballot and vote on this new stadium. True,

55
00:03:20,919 --> 00:03:24,560
Speaker 1: the stadium issue was such a hot topic and legislators

56
00:03:24,560 --> 00:03:27,640
Speaker 1: were so leary of any new taxes that the build

57
00:03:27,680 --> 00:03:30,760
Speaker 1: it became. Prop three O two, passed by a single

58
00:03:30,919 --> 00:03:34,800
Speaker 1: vote in the Arizona House of Representatives. But backers of

59
00:03:34,880 --> 00:03:38,480
Speaker 1: Prop three O two had talking points and messaging that

60
00:03:38,560 --> 00:03:42,080
Speaker 1: they used in soundbites. Quote, it's more than a stadium,

61
00:03:42,480 --> 00:03:47,280
Speaker 1: and we're not paying for it, Arizona Republic reporter Richard rellis,

62
00:03:47,280 --> 00:03:49,200
Speaker 1: this isn't just going to be the Cardinals in the stadium.

63
00:03:49,200 --> 00:03:51,320
Speaker 1: This is going to go for youth sports. We're gonna

64
00:03:51,400 --> 00:03:55,440
Speaker 1: build an authority to help sports in general, all manner

65
00:03:55,480 --> 00:03:58,120
Speaker 1: of things. So that helped it too, that it wasn't

66
00:03:58,200 --> 00:04:01,560
Speaker 1: just seen as a giveaway to the NFL franchise. It

67
00:04:01,640 --> 00:04:06,160
Speaker 1: was also going to double the size of the States

68
00:04:06,200 --> 00:04:09,640
Speaker 1: tourism promotion budget, which tourism is a big industry here.

69
00:04:10,040 --> 00:04:12,280
Speaker 1: It was also going to provide money to renovate the

70
00:04:12,320 --> 00:04:15,000
Speaker 1: spring training facilities in the Cactus League, and it was

71
00:04:15,040 --> 00:04:18,080
Speaker 1: also going to provide money to build new youth sports facilities.

72
00:04:18,240 --> 00:04:20,480
Speaker 1: This was going to be a tax Arizona residence most

73
00:04:20,480 --> 00:04:23,640
Speaker 1: likely wouldn't have to pay, and that it would fund

74
00:04:23,680 --> 00:04:26,080
Speaker 1: more than just a stadium, that they'd see a benefit

75
00:04:26,080 --> 00:04:28,599
Speaker 1: of it. That's right. If you were a Maricopa County

76
00:04:28,640 --> 00:04:32,200
Speaker 1: resident and you didn't rent a car or hotel room,

77
00:04:32,720 --> 00:04:35,200
Speaker 1: you weren't going to pay a penny. It was a

78
00:04:35,240 --> 00:04:38,120
Speaker 1: tourism tax. I felt like we had the momentum. The

79
00:04:38,160 --> 00:04:41,720
Speaker 1: message was finally getting out that this proposal was going

80
00:04:41,760 --> 00:04:45,400
Speaker 1: to have much more benefits than just building a stadium

81
00:04:45,440 --> 00:04:49,440
Speaker 1: for the Cardinals. It was a process, and although some

82
00:04:49,520 --> 00:04:53,040
Speaker 1: tracking services had the race even there was never a

83
00:04:53,080 --> 00:04:56,000
Speaker 1: poll taken by anyone at any time that showed a

84
00:04:56,080 --> 00:05:00,800
Speaker 1: majority of support to which Propped through two backers repeated said, look,

85
00:05:01,160 --> 00:05:05,400
Speaker 1: the only poll we really take seriously is on election day. Well,

86
00:05:05,880 --> 00:05:08,640
Speaker 1: that was a few days away, and even with the momentum,

87
00:05:08,800 --> 00:05:12,359
Speaker 1: Prop three h two needed a final push across the

88
00:05:12,400 --> 00:05:15,200
Speaker 1: goal line. We were not a good football team. The

89
00:05:15,240 --> 00:05:17,919
Speaker 1: football team gave us no help. In fact, two weeks

90
00:05:17,920 --> 00:05:21,520
Speaker 1: prior that Cardinals had already fired their head coach, Vince Tobin.

91
00:05:21,920 --> 00:05:24,599
Speaker 1: At two and six, the Cardinals were now facing six

92
00:05:24,600 --> 00:05:29,040
Speaker 1: and three Washington, the reigning NFC East champs. It did

93
00:05:29,120 --> 00:05:32,000
Speaker 1: feel like you need to have some good vibes and

94
00:05:32,040 --> 00:05:36,120
Speaker 1: if they go out and get crushed by Washington, that

95
00:05:36,279 --> 00:05:38,680
Speaker 1: was probably not going to help the cause. Cardinals writer

96
00:05:38,839 --> 00:05:41,640
Speaker 1: Darren Urban, his first year on the beat then with

97
00:05:41,800 --> 00:05:45,480
Speaker 1: East Valley Tribune. He watched Washington's first drive as they

98
00:05:45,520 --> 00:05:49,400
Speaker 1: march rather easily to the Arizona one yard line. Running

99
00:05:49,400 --> 00:05:53,360
Speaker 1: Back Stephen Davis got the call bad. He loses the ball.

100
00:05:53,560 --> 00:05:58,480
Speaker 1: When linebacker Mark Maddox forces the faithful fumble Jeff Jarge

101
00:05:58,520 --> 00:06:01,160
Speaker 1: the quarterback Vint the Davis again. He's bands and he

102
00:06:01,200 --> 00:06:03,800
Speaker 1: fumbles it into the ends of the Cardinals. Happen there

103
00:06:03,839 --> 00:06:07,040
Speaker 1: comes into Yesingtons. He's on the ten, he's on the twenty,

104
00:06:07,160 --> 00:06:09,800
Speaker 1: he's down the sideline of the forty. He's a big field.

105
00:06:09,920 --> 00:06:15,839
Speaker 1: He's going, he's going, he's going. He scores. That is

106
00:06:16,080 --> 00:06:21,039
Speaker 1: NFL history, what would be deemed the longest fumble return ever.

107
00:06:21,560 --> 00:06:23,640
Speaker 1: In fact, more on that and how it came to

108
00:06:23,680 --> 00:06:27,560
Speaker 1: be later asked for the game. Two plays later, Aeneas

109
00:06:27,640 --> 00:06:31,840
Speaker 1: Williams strikes again an interception leading to a field goal

110
00:06:31,920 --> 00:06:35,320
Speaker 1: and attend nothing. Cardinals lead. It was about all the

111
00:06:35,400 --> 00:06:38,760
Speaker 1: Cardinals would lead, though, as they were outgained four twenty

112
00:06:38,800 --> 00:06:42,280
Speaker 1: two to one seventy eight. Washington had twenty seven first

113
00:06:42,320 --> 00:06:45,320
Speaker 1: downs to the Cardinals eleven fought In the fourth quarter,

114
00:06:45,839 --> 00:06:49,480
Speaker 1: Washington missus two fuel goals, and like many Cardinals games

115
00:06:49,480 --> 00:06:52,520
Speaker 1: in that era, it came down to the wire. Washington

116
00:06:52,640 --> 00:06:55,640
Speaker 1: facing fourth and ten from their own twenty four, which

117
00:06:55,720 --> 00:06:59,400
Speaker 1: just over a minute to play. George to Trolle he

118
00:06:59,480 --> 00:07:02,280
Speaker 1: looks he throws down the middle of the field. It's

119
00:07:02,320 --> 00:07:04,760
Speaker 1: in the play and you can turn out the lights.

120
00:07:04,960 --> 00:07:08,839
Speaker 1: The Cardinals are gonna win it, and myself says since

121
00:07:09,360 --> 00:07:13,160
Speaker 1: and the Arizona Rins on Tuesdays serve the fans in

122
00:07:13,240 --> 00:07:17,320
Speaker 1: the stands. Today we're awesome. It was outstanding. You could

123
00:07:17,360 --> 00:07:19,840
Speaker 1: feel it, and he the fans one more time we

124
00:07:20,040 --> 00:07:22,640
Speaker 1: had you today. We need you one more time. We

125
00:07:22,760 --> 00:07:25,320
Speaker 1: need you one more time on twoday. That's interim head

126
00:07:25,360 --> 00:07:30,520
Speaker 1: coach Dave McGinnis after a sixteen fifteen Cardinals win. And

127
00:07:30,680 --> 00:07:34,040
Speaker 1: coach mac was a master motivator. He always had something

128
00:07:34,280 --> 00:07:37,560
Speaker 1: inspirational to say, and he had his own West Texas

129
00:07:37,680 --> 00:07:40,200
Speaker 1: way of saying it. You can't shoot and hunt with

130
00:07:40,240 --> 00:07:43,000
Speaker 1: a scared stick. You can't be timid. You gotta go.

131
00:07:43,400 --> 00:07:47,080
Speaker 1: You gotta go. Don't just be breathing, be living. There's

132
00:07:47,080 --> 00:07:52,840
Speaker 1: a hell of a difference. We were so excited to

133
00:07:52,920 --> 00:07:55,600
Speaker 1: win the game, and it was probably really the next

134
00:07:55,920 --> 00:08:00,040
Speaker 1: morning that we actually I thought about the Act to

135
00:08:00,120 --> 00:08:03,720
Speaker 1: Revote coming up. But while Aeneas was thinking about election day,

136
00:08:03,880 --> 00:08:06,880
Speaker 1: there were two high profile members of the Cardinals organization

137
00:08:07,040 --> 00:08:13,080
Speaker 1: thinking about Aeneas and this play. One hundred and three yards. Officially,

138
00:08:13,160 --> 00:08:17,480
Speaker 1: all that bubble recovery returned hang On, not so fast

139
00:08:17,680 --> 00:08:20,920
Speaker 1: as Cardinal's owner Bill Bidwill and legendary Hall of Fame

140
00:08:21,000 --> 00:08:25,320
Speaker 1: safety Larry Wilson. They traveled back to Sundevil Stadium, this

141
00:08:25,520 --> 00:08:28,760
Speaker 1: time armed with a tape measure and a mission once

142
00:08:28,800 --> 00:08:33,960
Speaker 1: again Darren Rdon. Initially, they marked the return one yard

143
00:08:34,080 --> 00:08:37,960
Speaker 1: short of what the NFL record was, and there were

144
00:08:38,000 --> 00:08:40,800
Speaker 1: people at the Cardinals they just felt like there was

145
00:08:40,840 --> 00:08:42,680
Speaker 1: no way he was deeper than that. When we're looking

146
00:08:42,720 --> 00:08:46,080
Speaker 1: at the film, he was deeper than that. So Bill Bidwell,

147
00:08:46,080 --> 00:08:50,679
Speaker 1: who's the owner, and Larry Wilson, they literally took a

148
00:08:50,760 --> 00:08:53,280
Speaker 1: tape measure and went back to sun Devil Stadium and

149
00:08:53,480 --> 00:08:56,839
Speaker 1: walked out on the field and marked, based on the

150
00:08:57,080 --> 00:08:59,840
Speaker 1: film and everything, where Ennius Williams picked up the ball

151
00:09:00,440 --> 00:09:02,599
Speaker 1: and measured it out how deep it was in the

152
00:09:02,679 --> 00:09:05,200
Speaker 1: endzone because obviously there's not hash marks in the end

153
00:09:05,280 --> 00:09:07,520
Speaker 1: zone and figured out that it was actually a yard

154
00:09:07,600 --> 00:09:10,080
Speaker 1: longer than they had originally said, which tied the NFL record,

155
00:09:10,120 --> 00:09:13,480
Speaker 1: And it was important for them to be able to

156
00:09:14,360 --> 00:09:16,199
Speaker 1: note this because it was an NFL record and it

157
00:09:16,320 --> 00:09:20,640
Speaker 1: was important for them to have a NIS get that mark,

158
00:09:21,000 --> 00:09:23,000
Speaker 1: and I think a NISS appreciated it in a lot

159
00:09:23,040 --> 00:09:26,079
Speaker 1: of ways, and it says something that the owner was

160
00:09:26,360 --> 00:09:29,800
Speaker 1: the person that kind of spearheaded all that the media

161
00:09:30,000 --> 00:09:32,040
Speaker 1: was coming. I was doing interviews in one of the

162
00:09:32,160 --> 00:09:37,439
Speaker 1: media persons said, hey, did you know mister Bilwell and

163
00:09:37,720 --> 00:09:42,120
Speaker 1: Larry went back out just to measure this and make

164
00:09:42,240 --> 00:09:45,720
Speaker 1: sure that you got the proper credit for the amount

165
00:09:45,720 --> 00:09:48,839
Speaker 1: of distance of the fumber recovery. And so when I

166
00:09:48,960 --> 00:09:51,160
Speaker 1: heard that, I said, man, that's pretty cool. The one

167
00:09:51,200 --> 00:09:54,839
Speaker 1: thing about mister B he knew his history is I

168
00:09:54,880 --> 00:09:57,640
Speaker 1: can attest from multiple conversations over the years, whether it

169
00:09:57,800 --> 00:10:01,480
Speaker 1: was football or World Wars. As coach Mack like to say,

170
00:10:01,760 --> 00:10:04,679
Speaker 1: he was in tune with the fiber and fabric of

171
00:10:04,800 --> 00:10:09,079
Speaker 1: the NFL and beyond once again Frank Sanders and Michael Bidwell.

172
00:10:09,280 --> 00:10:11,160
Speaker 1: One of the coolest things about mister B was that

173
00:10:11,280 --> 00:10:14,480
Speaker 1: he was historian. You could sit with him and he'll

174
00:10:14,559 --> 00:10:18,920
Speaker 1: just rattle off stats, dates and times. I mean, he's

175
00:10:18,920 --> 00:10:20,800
Speaker 1: talking to a twenty seven year old kid and a

176
00:10:20,880 --> 00:10:23,400
Speaker 1: bunch of us around the table that had no idea

177
00:10:23,440 --> 00:10:25,520
Speaker 1: of the stuff he would talk about. I remember a

178
00:10:25,600 --> 00:10:27,559
Speaker 1: time when this I remember a time when that or

179
00:10:27,840 --> 00:10:30,079
Speaker 1: do you know this or you know that back in

180
00:10:30,200 --> 00:10:32,360
Speaker 1: this and back in this and when this was It's like,

181
00:10:32,480 --> 00:10:35,079
Speaker 1: so he is definitely one of those number of crunch

182
00:10:35,160 --> 00:10:37,439
Speaker 1: guys that was my man here. You know, if he

183
00:10:37,520 --> 00:10:39,480
Speaker 1: thought it was the right thing, he'd dig in himself.

184
00:10:39,559 --> 00:10:42,560
Speaker 1: And and he also knew the weight of an owner

185
00:10:42,800 --> 00:10:45,160
Speaker 1: going out there with a tape measure and saying, you

186
00:10:45,240 --> 00:10:47,079
Speaker 1: know that that was going to be a difference to

187
00:10:47,880 --> 00:10:51,080
Speaker 1: you know, the league officials. His phone call and him

188
00:10:51,120 --> 00:10:55,439
Speaker 1: saying I measured it would likely have some impacts. So

189
00:10:56,480 --> 00:10:58,840
Speaker 1: I'm glad he used his influence in that way. Now,

190
00:10:59,080 --> 00:11:03,120
Speaker 1: speaking of influence, what sort of impact would the Cardinals

191
00:11:03,160 --> 00:11:09,720
Speaker 1: win over Washington half on the upcoming vote. I can

192
00:11:09,760 --> 00:11:13,240
Speaker 1: definitely say it didn't hurt that the Cardinals sealed a

193
00:11:13,320 --> 00:11:16,680
Speaker 1: victory days before they ask voters to fund the stadium

194
00:11:16,760 --> 00:11:19,680
Speaker 1: for them. Personally, I do not believe if they lose

195
00:11:19,800 --> 00:11:24,559
Speaker 1: that game that the proposition would have passed. And I

196
00:11:24,600 --> 00:11:26,800
Speaker 1: don't believe they win that game unless they make that play.

197
00:11:26,840 --> 00:11:29,520
Speaker 1: I mean that literally was a fourteen point swing in

198
00:11:29,559 --> 00:11:31,839
Speaker 1: a one point game. They followed the football and the

199
00:11:31,920 --> 00:11:35,520
Speaker 1: DS wins runs over a referee along with about five

200
00:11:35,600 --> 00:11:38,599
Speaker 1: other people on his way to a touchdown. Here in

201
00:11:38,760 --> 00:11:42,839
Speaker 1: columnists talk about man, this gives the city count of

202
00:11:42,960 --> 00:11:47,000
Speaker 1: some good vibes coming off and win when we had

203
00:11:47,080 --> 00:11:49,839
Speaker 1: had a tough season. The Cardinals are gonna put off

204
00:11:49,920 --> 00:11:53,240
Speaker 1: the upset and the s Williams is doing handsprings on

205
00:11:53,320 --> 00:11:56,240
Speaker 1: the ten yard line. Glad how fans have something to

206
00:11:56,320 --> 00:11:58,640
Speaker 1: be in a good mood about. The Cardinals had something

207
00:11:58,679 --> 00:12:02,599
Speaker 1: that most politicians don't, a real big national platform just

208
00:12:02,920 --> 00:12:05,959
Speaker 1: days before the election. It is weird to think that

209
00:12:06,679 --> 00:12:10,920
Speaker 1: a dramatic Cardinals victory would have turned a no vote

210
00:12:10,960 --> 00:12:15,120
Speaker 1: on the stadium to a yes vote. But stranger things

211
00:12:15,160 --> 00:12:18,000
Speaker 1: in politics have definitely happened. But that wasn't all that

212
00:12:18,240 --> 00:12:20,800
Speaker 1: turned the tie. There was definitely more to the cards

213
00:12:20,840 --> 00:12:24,520
Speaker 1: prop three h two game plan, including xes and os

214
00:12:24,720 --> 00:12:28,040
Speaker 1: that sent players on a go route into the community.

215
00:12:28,400 --> 00:12:31,040
Speaker 1: Even the face of the franchise, Jake Plummer and one

216
00:12:31,080 --> 00:12:34,839
Speaker 1: of his top targets, Frank Sanders. I'm not a politician,

217
00:12:34,920 --> 00:12:37,240
Speaker 1: don't ever want to be a politics. It's kind of

218
00:12:37,280 --> 00:12:39,880
Speaker 1: the you know something I know about but I don't

219
00:12:39,880 --> 00:12:44,200
Speaker 1: really get too involved in. But that was really interesting

220
00:12:44,280 --> 00:12:46,920
Speaker 1: to go around and as we called it, stumping for

221
00:12:47,160 --> 00:12:49,600
Speaker 1: the new stadium. Yeah we shook hands and kiss babies,

222
00:12:50,000 --> 00:12:52,840
Speaker 1: Yeah we did. It was worth it though, thinking back

223
00:12:52,880 --> 00:12:56,800
Speaker 1: on that moment, that was huge for that organization. In fact,

224
00:12:56,880 --> 00:13:01,240
Speaker 1: it was players knocking on doors standing at the church

225
00:13:01,360 --> 00:13:03,240
Speaker 1: down where I lived. There was a church of voting

226
00:13:03,559 --> 00:13:06,280
Speaker 1: center there where people coming to vote, and I was

227
00:13:06,320 --> 00:13:08,200
Speaker 1: standing on a big rock. People were like, what are

228
00:13:08,200 --> 00:13:10,600
Speaker 1: you doing out here and trying to get this stadium.

229
00:13:10,640 --> 00:13:12,040
Speaker 1: I want to be here. I want to sta have

230
00:13:12,080 --> 00:13:14,920
Speaker 1: a new stadium. And it wasn't just players out there

231
00:13:15,040 --> 00:13:19,560
Speaker 1: stumping for votes. The teamwork extended to Cardinals staffers as well.

232
00:13:19,640 --> 00:13:24,079
Speaker 1: In fact, longtime broadcast producer Jim Omohundro even took one

233
00:13:24,520 --> 00:13:27,479
Speaker 1: for the team. So I volunteered to hand out information

234
00:13:27,880 --> 00:13:30,640
Speaker 1: at a polling place on election day, and this one

235
00:13:30,679 --> 00:13:33,280
Speaker 1: happened to be at church in Ouatuki. So I'm out

236
00:13:33,320 --> 00:13:35,240
Speaker 1: there and you know, you have to be a certain

237
00:13:35,600 --> 00:13:37,760
Speaker 1: distance from the polling place, and they were to do that,

238
00:13:37,960 --> 00:13:40,240
Speaker 1: and you know, if the rule was one hundred feet,

239
00:13:40,280 --> 00:13:42,920
Speaker 1: I was at least three hundred feet. So I'm handing

240
00:13:42,960 --> 00:13:46,760
Speaker 1: out the information and I hear this voice, you can't

241
00:13:46,800 --> 00:13:49,560
Speaker 1: be handing that stuff out here, and I turned toward

242
00:13:49,600 --> 00:13:53,280
Speaker 1: the voice and basically I ate a purse. An eighty

243
00:13:53,320 --> 00:13:56,760
Speaker 1: year old woman swung her purse and hit me right

244
00:13:56,880 --> 00:13:59,920
Speaker 1: in the kisser that blindside hit where our jim Amo

245
00:14:00,080 --> 00:14:03,160
Speaker 1: hundred got ear holed by that purse. And the story

246
00:14:03,320 --> 00:14:05,839
Speaker 1: Jake Plummer told of being perched on a rock like

247
00:14:05,920 --> 00:14:10,840
Speaker 1: a town crier. That was all on election day itself. Later,

248
00:14:11,080 --> 00:14:14,760
Speaker 1: as returns rolled in, it was apparent that tally was close,

249
00:14:15,480 --> 00:14:19,720
Speaker 1: real close. When you look at what the final ballot was.

250
00:14:19,840 --> 00:14:22,360
Speaker 1: I mean it was by the slimmest of margins that

251
00:14:22,440 --> 00:14:24,880
Speaker 1: hand have passed. I've always said and thought it would

252
00:14:24,880 --> 00:14:28,560
Speaker 1: be very close. I knew that once we got the

253
00:14:28,720 --> 00:14:31,800
Speaker 1: voters educated, that we would have quite a bit of support,

254
00:14:32,240 --> 00:14:34,520
Speaker 1: and I appreciate the position we stand in now and

255
00:14:34,600 --> 00:14:37,200
Speaker 1: the support of the voters. By late that night, with

256
00:14:37,680 --> 00:14:41,880
Speaker 1: ninety eight percent of the precincts reporting, fifty one percent

257
00:14:42,080 --> 00:14:45,320
Speaker 1: were in favor of Prop three O two, forty nine

258
00:14:45,400 --> 00:14:50,240
Speaker 1: percent against, with forty thousand absentee ballots yet to be counted,

259
00:14:50,640 --> 00:14:53,400
Speaker 1: But as the executive director of the group backing Prop

260
00:14:53,480 --> 00:14:57,040
Speaker 1: three O two proclaimed, quote, do the math. I think

261
00:14:57,120 --> 00:14:59,920
Speaker 1: we'll have some good news for the people of Maricopa County.

262
00:15:00,400 --> 00:15:03,320
Speaker 1: Owner Michael Bidwell, who served as a Cardinals point person

263
00:15:03,440 --> 00:15:06,760
Speaker 1: during the entire campaign, well here he is that night,

264
00:15:06,960 --> 00:15:10,600
Speaker 1: November seventh, two thousand. I'm really proud of the operate

265
00:15:10,680 --> 00:15:13,520
Speaker 1: that everybody made on this. The most importantly the voters,

266
00:15:13,560 --> 00:15:17,800
Speaker 1: your listeners, sports fans, football fans, Cardinal fans all responded,

267
00:15:18,240 --> 00:15:21,160
Speaker 1: turned out the vote, and that's why we stand here.

268
00:15:22,320 --> 00:15:26,840
Speaker 1: Proposition three zero two was tagged as Arizona wins Now.

269
00:15:26,920 --> 00:15:32,200
Speaker 1: I'm here to tell you Arizona one. Thank you. And

270
00:15:32,320 --> 00:15:36,360
Speaker 1: it's worth noting that officials from Los Angeles and San

271
00:15:36,440 --> 00:15:42,200
Speaker 1: Antonio were also closely watching the outcome, anticipating a potential

272
00:15:42,320 --> 00:15:46,240
Speaker 1: opportunity to lure the Cardinals away, but the yes vote

273
00:15:46,320 --> 00:15:51,040
Speaker 1: officially ended any speculation that the franchise might relocate. I

274
00:15:51,200 --> 00:15:56,160
Speaker 1: just remember saying it like a yes, yes this organization,

275
00:15:56,320 --> 00:16:00,640
Speaker 1: mister Bidwell, they deserved this, We needed that in and

276
00:16:00,760 --> 00:16:02,920
Speaker 1: again that's one of those moments it was meant to be.

277
00:16:03,640 --> 00:16:06,920
Speaker 1: A stadium does help. Having your own stadium help allows

278
00:16:06,960 --> 00:16:10,920
Speaker 1: the fan base to feel more comfortable. Everything you look

279
00:16:11,000 --> 00:16:14,480
Speaker 1: back years ago to now is absolutely it was worth

280
00:16:14,520 --> 00:16:16,720
Speaker 1: it and I'm glad I was there to pay my part.

281
00:16:16,880 --> 00:16:19,160
Speaker 1: Being a part of that was when I think back,

282
00:16:19,280 --> 00:16:22,640
Speaker 1: was really a pretty awesome thing. They stayed there, they

283
00:16:22,760 --> 00:16:25,640
Speaker 1: had a place to call home, they were able to

284
00:16:25,840 --> 00:16:28,240
Speaker 1: you know, attract better free agents, and then they ended

285
00:16:28,320 --> 00:16:30,600
Speaker 1: up going to the super Bowl not too long after that,

286
00:16:30,760 --> 00:16:33,840
Speaker 1: So what we did was really monumental. And then to

287
00:16:33,920 --> 00:16:36,200
Speaker 1: be a part of getting that vote to pass was

288
00:16:36,480 --> 00:16:38,440
Speaker 1: pretty cool to know that we were a big part

289
00:16:38,480 --> 00:16:41,200
Speaker 1: of that team staying in the valley and now being

290
00:16:41,680 --> 00:16:44,520
Speaker 1: you know, they're the Arizona Cardinals and the fans I

291
00:16:44,640 --> 00:16:47,920
Speaker 1: bought in and they loved that organization. Now, when I

292
00:16:48,040 --> 00:16:51,320
Speaker 1: saw that new stadium, I was so excited for the

293
00:16:51,480 --> 00:16:55,320
Speaker 1: current players, but I thought of us as legends and

294
00:16:55,480 --> 00:17:00,640
Speaker 1: former players as like excavators getting the ground ready for

295
00:17:00,760 --> 00:17:03,640
Speaker 1: that foundation to be built for a building and for

296
00:17:03,720 --> 00:17:07,160
Speaker 1: the building itself. And the truth is, I get excited

297
00:17:07,240 --> 00:17:11,320
Speaker 1: for decurrent guys. Da Kayla, Maray's, all of these guys

298
00:17:12,000 --> 00:17:16,399
Speaker 1: that are in that stadium. Michael and the family and

299
00:17:16,680 --> 00:17:19,280
Speaker 1: all the people that built that stadium, designed the stadium

300
00:17:19,880 --> 00:17:23,080
Speaker 1: did an amazing job, and as we now know, the

301
00:17:23,240 --> 00:17:27,720
Speaker 1: stadium would feature a retractable roof and a natural grass

302
00:17:27,800 --> 00:17:30,960
Speaker 1: field on a tray that would slide outdoors when not

303
00:17:31,160 --> 00:17:33,720
Speaker 1: in use on game day. Plus, the new stadium was

304
00:17:33,760 --> 00:17:37,200
Speaker 1: seat over sixty thousand fans, with more seats for the

305
00:17:37,320 --> 00:17:41,440
Speaker 1: Fiesta Bowl and Super Bowls, and it would provide critical

306
00:17:41,560 --> 00:17:46,080
Speaker 1: revenue sources needed to be competitive. The evidence how well

307
00:17:46,119 --> 00:17:48,960
Speaker 1: the Cardinals have done since that stadium was built, and

308
00:17:49,119 --> 00:17:53,040
Speaker 1: how popular they've been, and how crowded that stadium has

309
00:17:53,080 --> 00:17:56,560
Speaker 1: been since it opened. This testament that you know, things

310
00:17:56,640 --> 00:17:59,840
Speaker 1: came together, all those elements of meshed at the right

311
00:17:59,880 --> 00:18:02,800
Speaker 1: time to make the team of success. The experts that

312
00:18:03,080 --> 00:18:06,400
Speaker 1: the economic analysis thought the economic impact would be three

313
00:18:06,480 --> 00:18:10,520
Speaker 1: billion dollars over the first thirty years. We're only halfway

314
00:18:10,680 --> 00:18:14,760
Speaker 1: there at this point and it's already exceeded five billion dollars.

315
00:18:14,840 --> 00:18:18,720
Speaker 1: So the economic impact State Farm Stadium is just it's

316
00:18:18,720 --> 00:18:21,760
Speaker 1: a true economic engine. In fact, since opening in two

317
00:18:21,840 --> 00:18:26,080
Speaker 1: thousand and six, the building asssted Super Bowls and Final fours,

318
00:18:26,240 --> 00:18:31,600
Speaker 1: college football national Championship games, everything from Metallica, the Monster Truck's,

319
00:18:31,680 --> 00:18:35,120
Speaker 1: WrestleMania too. And it all goes back to the year

320
00:18:35,200 --> 00:18:39,720
Speaker 1: two thousand, one hundred four yards victory and a vote

321
00:18:40,160 --> 00:18:42,760
Speaker 1: I can't look back and say for sure we would

322
00:18:42,800 --> 00:18:45,040
Speaker 1: not have won the vote without that win, but as

323
00:18:45,040 --> 00:18:47,399
Speaker 1: sure as hell helped. And I'm glad that we won

324
00:18:47,520 --> 00:18:51,520
Speaker 1: it and got the victory that day. And I hugged

325
00:18:51,560 --> 00:18:54,800
Speaker 1: an us down in the in the locker room afterwards

326
00:18:54,840 --> 00:18:57,480
Speaker 1: and haven't stopped hugging him since every time I see them,

327
00:18:57,920 --> 00:19:01,879
Speaker 1: And that question still remains. Did the win on game

328
00:19:02,000 --> 00:19:06,639
Speaker 1: day lead to a win on election Day? This is

329
00:19:06,720 --> 00:19:09,879
Speaker 1: Cardinals Folk Tales presented by seventy two Soul for producer

330
00:19:10,000 --> 00:19:13,320
Speaker 1: Jim Almahundro. I'm Paul CALVISI thanks for listening everyone,