The Arizona Cardinals are the oldest professional football franchise in the United States. Now making their home at State Farm Stadium, the team originally formed in 1898 as the Morgan Athletic Club. The following year they were purchased by a local businessman and renamed the Racine Normals. Two years later they would again be renamed; this time to the Racine Street Cardinals.

In 1920 they would join the American Professional Football Association in its inaugural year. The APFA was the precursor to the NFL. They are one of only two teams to play in the league since its inception. In 1922 the APFA would become the National Football League and the Cardinals would change the geographic portion of their name to the Chicago Cardinals.

The early years of the NFL were like the wild west of sports, with teams setting their own schedules, flaunting the rules, and doing pretty much as they chose. The Maroons would play in another team’s location in 1925, and due to that infraction, the Cardinals were awarded their first league championship.

In 1944, the league had a shortage of players due to World War 2. The Cardinals were forced to merge with the Pittsburgh Steelers forming a team known as Card-Pitt. The following year, they would once again become the Cardinals.

They made it to the NFL championship game in 1947 and 1948, taking on the Philadelphia Eagles in both contests. They would win the first of those. Afterward, the team would begin to struggle on the field and attendance began dropping as many fans would change their loyalties to the Chicago Bears. The financial issues that followed prompted a move. The Cardinals headed to St. Louis.

The St. Louis Cardinals would find a fanbase hungry for football in the city and were quickly welcomed. Many fans nick-named the team “Big Red”. The Cardinals stayed nearly 3 decades in St. Louis, going to the playoffs three times. But many poor seasons combined with an aging stadium and a city no longer interested in building a new facility caused the team to pack their bags once again. In 1988, the Phoenix Cardinals were born.

Although they had a new and excited fanbase, things didn’t change much for the Cardinals for a while. In 1994, they again changed the geographic portion of their name to the Arizona Cardinals. That seemed to breathe new life into an old team. The team would begin improving and would head back to the playoffs in 1998. In 2008, with a young Kurt Warner at quarterback, they would win the NFC championship followed by a heartbreaking Super Bowl loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers with only seconds left on the clock.

In recent years the Cardinals have seen many playoff appearances and above .500 records, including the thrilling 13-3 season. Although last season was a hard one for fans to watch, this team has shown they are no longer the Cardinals of old. A losing season seems to energize the team and they bounce back stronger than ever. 2023 promises to be an exciting one for the Cardinals and their Red Sea of fans.

You can watch the Cardinals every time they take to the field this year with MLB Webcast. No worries about blackouts.

Every game is streamed for free right to your device. No need to sign up. As your team takes on rivals such as the Seattle Seahawks and San Francisco 49ers, you can enter the chat and discuss the game with other fans. The 2023 season is upon us! Let’s do this Red Sea!