NFL goes to Mexico with Arizona v. San Francisco

By: Larry Fitzgerald
Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder
Originally posted 09/29/2005

 

For the first time in the National Football League’s long 86-year history, the league will play a regular-season game outside the United States. Next Sunday, October 2, the 0-3 Arizona Cardinals will host the 1-2 San Francisco 49ers in Mexico City, Mexico.

 

“Mexico is the country with the most NFL fans outside of the United States,” said NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue. “Our fans in Mexico are knowledgeable and passionate, and they are ready for this next step.

 

“They have supported our American Bowl games in record numbers, and the NFL programming has been part of television in Mexico for decades. The Cardinals and 49ers play in markets with large Hispanic communities, including many people of Mexican decent.

 

 “This week’s game will generate new excitement both in Mexico and in Hispanic communities throughout the United States,” said Tagliabue, “and it promises to become a milestone in the NFL’s history as a global sport.”

 

The Cardinals will be the home team, shifting one of their eight home games to Estadio Azteca. Mexican fans have long exhibited enthusiasm for the NFL, especially on August 15, 1994, when 112,376 people filled the stadium for an American Bowl game between the Dallas Cowboys and Houston Oilers — the largest crowd in NFL history.

 

Mexico City is one of the world’s most populated cities with more than 18 million residents. Former Minnesota Vikings Head Coach Dennis Green is Arizona’s current head coach. And Minnesota native wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald Jr., who attended Holy Angels High School in Richfield, plays for the Cardinals.

 

The game will be televised live nationally at 7:30 pm in the United States on ESPN and throughout Mexico.

 

 

No compassion for Saints

 

Dominating the Saints 33-16 at the Metrodome Sunday, the Minnesota Vikings showed their lack of compassion for the homeless New Orleans Saints, who have been forced to play 16 road games this season because of the devastation of Hurricane Katrina and flooding in New Orleans.

 

It was the Vikings’ first win of the year, improving their record to 1-2. It also marked the fourth time the two teams have played in the last five regular seasons.

 

Quarterback Daunte Culpepper got his roll on by passing for 300 yards and three touchdowns in the Vikings win. The number-one responsibility of an NFL head coach is to provide a balanced offensive attack so that defenses can’t load up and attack the quarterback.

 

Running back Mewelde Moore, the second-year back from Tulane, ran for 103 yards as the Vikings rushed for 100 yards for the first time this season. Only five teams in NFL history have qualified for the playoffs starting the season 0-3, so the win was vital for the Vikings’ playoff chances.

 

 

Culpepper v. Vick in Vikings v. Falcons

 

This week, the Vikings travel to Atlanta to play the 2-1 Falcons. That means a marquee match-up at quarterback between Daunte Culpepper and Michael Vick. That is worth the price of admission alone.

 

The Vikings last played the Falcons in 2003, when the Vikings won in Atlanta 39-26. The Falcons won an overtime thriller 30-24 at the Metrodome in 2002, so Vick and Culpepper are head to head at 1-1.

 

So this is the rubber game, and a very important one for the Vikings, who have lost 18 of their last 27 road games under Head Coach Mike Tice. Both the Falcons and the Vikings qualified for the playoffs last year, and both won playoff games before losing to eventual NFC Champion Philadelphia.