The Arizona Cardinals’ first home game of the regular season brought a full scene to State Farm Stadium in Glendale: tailgates, mixed emotions, and plenty of Seahawks blue in the crowd.
The Cardinals fell to Seattle, and that loss left some fans frustrated as they filed out of the stadium. Still, plenty of people around the parking lots and concourses said one game doesn’t define the season.
Before kickoff, tailgaters filled the area around the stadium, with Cardinals fans making up a big part of the scene. But once fans headed inside, the crowd leaned heavily toward Seahawks supporters.
For some Cardinals backers, optimism was still the headline.
"I want to see them win a lot of games and I want to see them go to the Super Bowl," Donna, a Cardinals fan, said.
Others pointed to the arrival of a new coach as reason for hope.
"We have a new coach. That’s very exciting we’re just excited to…a fresh start," Cardinals fan Shana Brown said.
After the game, though, not everyone was looking at the season through rose-colored glasses.
"As expected. We're not that good.
It's unfortunate but it's the championship defense. It's the best defense in the league. 12th man's a home game for Seattle pretty much.
I mean there are more Seahawks fans than Cardinals fans," Cardinals fan Allen VanBergen said.
"We should have done better. We did good the first half but the second half, I don't know what happened.
We just broke down. It was tough to watch," Cardinals fan Kevin Romano said.
Even with the result, a lot of fans treated the day as much more than the scoreboard. For them, the pregame routine is part of the appeal.
"It’s a tradition. We usually come early. We’ve been doing it for the past five, six years, so look forward to it every season," Cardinals fan Eric Balderas said.
Brown said the group she came with has made tailgating a long-running habit.
"We’re die hard Cardinals fans. We’ve been tailgating as a group for decades now," Brown said.
There was even a little rivalry-with-a-smile among friends from opposite sides.
"We’re frenemies, for like what a decade plus now? It’s that friendly banter like haha and then oh crap. I’m losing," Seahawks fan Jared Robinovitz said.
With the game day crowd moving through the lots and into the stadium, the Glendale Police Department also had a message for anyone heading to future games: plan ahead and stay safe.
The department said drivers should know their routes and exits, remember where they parked, and keep track of the color-coded lots, which are assigned a letter and number.
"Don't drink and drive. Avoid all of that kind of stuff- designated driver if you are going to tailgate. We encourage you to come out, have a great time, have fun," Justin Ramsay, with Glendale Police said.
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