| ROSEMONT, Ill. — It wasn’t their first choice, but
in the end, the Arizona Cardinals and the Seattle Seahawks played the role of good soldier
in the unanimous NFL realignment vote Tuesday morning at the special owners meeting. Both
teams will end up in the same division, beginning with the 2002 season, as they move into
the revamped NFC West with St. Louis and San Francisco. It’s a division that
certainly makes more sense geographically and, in time, should promote some interesting
rivalries.
Commissioner Paul Tagliabue acknowledged that both Arizona and Seattle voiced their
concerns about the move, but in the end "they recognized that the spirit of (late
Pittsburgh owner) Art Rooney should prevail."
Rooney’s son Dan related how traumatic it was for the Steelers during the last
realignment in 1970 to move from the NFL/NFC to the AFC, losing traditional rivalries with
the New York Giants and Cleveland in the process.
That obviously had an impact on Arizona president William V. Bidwill and Seattle
president Bob Whitsitt. The league also offered a scheduling plan that will make sure the
Cardinals and Seahawks get to play some of their old rivals each preseason for the next
five years, and it set up the rotating non-conference schedule so that they get to face
their old rivals next season.
"I think it’s really good for the league and good for the Seahawks,"
Whitsitt said during a break in the meetings. "We were never against (the move to the
NFC), but we were looking at it from our fans’ perspective. They have gotten used to
seeing the AFC West teams. The fact that the league had the scheduling and preseason plan
to accompany the realignment plan is good for everyone.
"It should keep our fans happy for the next five years by preserving some of the
(AFC West) rivalries."
Bidwill, on the other hand, was not as enthusiastic.
"It’s passed now, and I’m happy about it,’’ Bidwill said
expressionlessly. "The owners made a decision on what’s best for the league, and
that’s what’s best for the Cardinals."
Bidwill’s biggest concern about moving out of the NFC East was losing a guaranteed
annual home game with Dallas, the Cardinals’ biggest draw each season. However,
Cowboys owner Jerry Jones came up with a solution that should help Bidwill.
"Jerry said he will make sure Dallas plays us in the preseason whenever we’re
not playing each other in the regular season," Bidwill said. "That was a very
fine gesture by him. We look forward to that."
Another interesting angle with the Cardinals’ move is the fact that they will now
be division rivals with St. Louis, the city that Bidwill left for the desert in 1988.
"I have no problem going back to St. Louis," he said. "I still have a
lot of friends there."
In addition to starting play in a new division in a new conference, the Seahawks are
also on schedule to open the 2002 season in a new stadium.
"We’re excited," Whitsitt said. "The competition in the NFC West
will be really good, and I’m confident that new rivalries will develop quickly.
"It was great to see the league come to a unanimous consensus so quickly."
Related stories:
Arkush: A sense of history helped nail down
realignment
Owners mull sanctions against Raiders' renegade
boss
League quickly approves realignment
Agrest: Commend owners for job well done |
