“Making their debut in front of a raucous crowd of 55,000 the Cardinals very first game was a wild affair. It is remembered chiefly for the two TDs by WR Andre Irvin (they were to be the only scores of the game) Irvin who also posted 23 paces rushing had the jugular ripped from his throat late in the game in junk time by the Vampire Thrall Malpardis. In honor of his status as the Cards first scorer and first casualty he was made the charter member of the Teams Honor roll and the Cards have honored his memory with their signature black A.I patch worn on the left sleeve of their uniform ever since.

The first score came off a turnover In the first half, a vicious block on the infamous Vampire Thrall Malpardis by Logan Howard jarred the ball loose near the line of scrimmage. Darting through a sea of undead antagonists Andre Irvin scooped up the loose ball and ran back half the length of the field for the opening score.

In the second half, on arguably one of the greatest plays in Cardinal history, lineman Richie Garcia recovered his own throwers fumble near the Suckers sideline threw a long pass to Irvin while two thralls were hanging off his neck seeking to claw open his throat. Irvin made a fingertip catch and ran the ball in for the 2-0 score (While Vanderghast received a lesson in quarterbacking from his own lineman)

Another memorable play on a day that featured many was the vicious gangfouling of the Vampire Krench near the end of the first half. Drake Aubrey received the sendoff but as many as six Cardinals would later claim responsibility for the boot that sent Krench to the sideline for much of the second half. To this day Drake Aubrey still wears Krench's knocked out left fang around his neck as a good luck charm.

Other impressive performances that day included David Dunlap (7 blocks) and Tanner Lee who earned MVP honors for an otherwise undistingushed performance due to his outstanding victory dance following his lone block of the game
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