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Arizona Cardinals fans haven’t had much to cheer for over the past decade or so, and that status quo has remained unchanged five games into the current season. Many supporters have gotten increasingly fed up with the team’s owner, and some of them helped shatter the goal for a GoFundMe to pay for billboards to urge him to sell the team.
It’s been close to two decades since the Cardinals played in the Super Bowl for the first time in the history of the franchise before losing to the Steelers, and it’s been largely downhill for the team since then.
They did make it to the NFC Championship during the 2015 campaign, but a one-and-done showing in the Wild Card round during the 2021 season marks the only time Arizona has punched its ticket to the postseason since then.
That was also the only year they’ve posted a winning record during that span, and it does not seem like they’re going to end up with one this year when you consider they’re currently sitting at 1-4, with their lone win coming over a Chargers team that’s gone 0-5.
There’s plenty of blame to go around, but much of it has been placed on owner Michael Bidwill, who will soon be at the center of an ad campaign funded by fans who are firmly fed up with how things have been going.
Cardinals fans have donated nearly $10,000 to spend on billboards to urge owner Michael Bidwill to sell the team
The Bidwill family has owned the Cardinals for close to a century, as they were still in Chicago when Charles Sr. acquired the franchise in 1932.
Michael Bidwill, who currently serves as their owner and chairman, joined the front office in 1996. He’s served as the president since 2007, and he officially took the reins after his father, Bill, passed away in 2019.
His tenure has been defined by a disappointing product on the field and a slew of allegations concerning a toxic work environment where he was accused of fostering discrimination and harassment (which came on top of accusations that he skirted NFL rules to communicate with former GM Steve Keim while he was serving a suspension for a DUI).
The Cardinals also received the second-worst grade in the league in the most recent installment of the NFLPA’s report cards, and they were the only franchise that got an “F” in the “Team Ownership” category.
Earlier this week, a fed-up fan named Nathan Kropp turned to GoFundMe in the hopes of raising $900 to pay for digital billboards to urge Bidwill to sell the team due to his “lack of commitment to winning.” He generated that amount and then some, as 300 people have collectively donated $9,417 while surpassing the initial goal by over 1000%.
Kropp says he plans to pay for traditional billboards in the Phoenix area if the GoFundMe hits $10,000, and it sure looks like it’s only a matter of time until they’re erected.