The Arizona Football Cardinals: A Perspective

This afternoon, the Arizona Cardinals will host the Atlanta Falcons in the initial round of the NFL Super Bowl tournament. This represents the first home playoff game for the Cardinals since December 28th, 1947. On that day, before a crowd of 30,759, the Chicago Cardinals defeated the Philadelphia Eagles 28 to 21 to secure their second NFL Championship.

61 years and six days. Longer than a vast majority of Cardinal fans have been alive. Longer than the vast majority of football fans have been alive. Much has changed. The game has changed. The world has changed.

So allow me to harken back to the year MCMXLVII , for a look at what America was like. A context, if you will.

Two years removed from WWII, and with the Cold War still on the horizon, Americans were still settling in to a life during peacetime. These are some things that defined their daily existence.

The average working person brought home $2,850 in annual pay.

The average cost of a new house was $6,600.

A new car cost an average of $1,300.

A gallon of gas cost 15 cents, two pennies more than a loaf of bread, which was  a dime more than a stamp.

The CIA was established, and some strange remains were found in the desert in Roswell, New Mexico.

The U.N. voted in favor of an independent Jewish state, and Israel was born. India gained its independence, and the first of the Dead Sea scrolls were discovered.

Advances in technology gave us the instant camera, the tubeless tire, the transistor, and the Frisbee.

The House on Un American Activitees Committee was on television, and Miracle on 34th St. was on the big screen. The Diary of Anne Frank was published.

Jackie Robinson became the first African American to play in Major League Baseball, while Hillary Rodham Clinton, Stephen King, David Zucker, and Bob Wier were born.

A lot has changed since then. Today, Cardinal fans will assemble in a climate controlled stadium, in Arizona, and enjoy a playoff football game. They will be able to view instant replay of the significant moments on the giant screen above the field.

Others will be parking themselves on their couches (some things never change), enjoying their beverages of choice and snacking on food, easily reheated in the microwave. For those prevented from watching the game live, they can TiVo the game to watch at their convenience.

So for all you Cardinal fans out there, by all means enjoy. It’s been a long time coming.