Cardinals tight end Trey McBride has retracted a poorly phrased comment from a June podcast appearance criticizing Arizona fans.
"I probably shouldn't have said that," he said Saturday of the comments, via . "It came out wrong, and obviously the fanbase is great. We have a tremendous fanbase. Arizona's been here, loyal fans to all the sports teams here, and we're very lucky to have a lot of these guys, and we're going to have a great season. We're going to win games, and we're going to make sure those fans have something proud to cheer for.
"I love it here in Arizona, and I hope they love me too, but it's a special place. The fans are great, and I'm excited for this year to give them something to be proud of."
During on the Bussin' with the Boys podcast last month, McBride said that with Arizona being a transplant state, Cards fans don't exist or are overwhelmed by fans of other teams.
"Living in Arizona, no one's from Arizona," McBride said. "Everyone has kinda moved in from another state, so they're all fans of their own teams, so now you have the Arizona that sits there and there's no Arizona fans in Arizona. So it's a tough deal. Hopefully, we start winning some games and we can bring some of those fans back."
McBride is correct in that Arizona is home to many who grew up rooting for other clubs. It's also true that fans in every state get behind a winner while feeling blasé about a perennial loser. Since McBride joined the club in 2022, the Cards have gone 19-49, with zero seasons above the .500 mark and three of the four seasons below the five-win barrier.
If the Cardinals finally turn things around under Mike LaFleur, McBride will see much different fan support.
