# If the Cardinals' plane crashes... **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [January 27, 2009, 1:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-the-cardinals-plane-crashes/483217 "2009-01-27T13:13:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![as\_u\_wish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/6f9a4e/32.png) [@as\_u\_wish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/as_u_wish)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2009, 1:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-the-cardinals-plane-crashes/483217/1 "2009-01-27T13:13:01Z")
We were wondering, what happens if the Cardinal’s (or the Steeler’s) corporate jet crashes en route to the Superbowl, killing or injuring most of the players? Is there some sort of established protocol for this for the Superbowl? Or, for that matter, significant games in general? What would you do if you were in charge? Cancel the game? Refund the tickets? Bring in Baltimore or the Eagles? Just show the half time progam and the commercials? ---
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2009, 1:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-the-cardinals-plane-crashes/483217/2 "2009-01-27T13:21:22Z")
Don’t they forfeit the game? ---
**Author:** ![as\_u\_wish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/6f9a4e/32.png) [@as\_u\_wish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/as_u_wish)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2009, 1:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-the-cardinals-plane-crashes/483217/3 "2009-01-27T13:25:46Z")
Well, I was assuming that, of course. I was thinking more along the lines of the sheer logistics of dealing with all the fans, the press parties, etc. I was hoping someone had ideas on contingency planning. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2009, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-the-cardinals-plane-crashes/483217/4 "2009-01-27T14:26:19Z")
Oh, the difference apostrophe placement makes. I thought this thread was about how the Pope fills unexpected vacancies. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2009, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-the-cardinals-plane-crashes/483217/5 "2009-01-27T16:31:36Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > Oh, the difference apostrophe placement makes. I thought this thread was about how the Pope fills unexpected vacancies. 😉 That’s what I thought the thread was going to be about. I guess the title should have said Steeler’s instead. ---
**Author:** ![fusoya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ecccb3/32.png) [@fusoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fusoya)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2009, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-the-cardinals-plane-crashes/483217/6 "2009-01-27T17:04:01Z")
Don’t have a factual answer, but my guess is that it would be such a travesty (anytime a fatal plane crash occurs with regular civilians, it’s the news story of the month), that the super bowl would be canceled, and replaced with plenty of footage of why every person on that plane was an AMERICAN HERO. And some right wing nutcase would demand that the NFL be shut down so that this can never happen again. ---
**Author:** ![An\_Arky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/87869e/32.png) [@An\_Arky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Arky)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2009, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-the-cardinals-plane-crashes/483217/7 "2009-01-27T17:12:23Z")
The [Steelers](http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2009/football/nfl/super-bowl/01/26/steelers.ap/index.html) and [Cardinals](http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2009/football/nfl/super-bowl/01/26/cardinals.ap/index.html) have both arrived in Tampa, so those contingency plans can stay on the shelf for another year… ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2009, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-the-cardinals-plane-crashes/483217/8 "2009-01-27T17:22:10Z")
Major league sports have a disaster draft (or something with a more euphemistic name) to restock a team after something like a plane crash, but generally that wouldn’t kick in until the off-season. Unthinkable as it seems, I suspect they’d have to cancel the Super Bowl. ---
**Author:** ![Bootis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e8c25b/32.png) [@Bootis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bootis)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2009, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-the-cardinals-plane-crashes/483217/9 "2009-01-27T17:44:15Z")
They’d play- Ben Rothlisberger would be the alltime designated QB. He would have to promise to try equally hard for both teams. The surviving player from the crash, whoever’s in a wheelchair, would play and wouldn’t allowed to be touched, but he will be given the ball and will wheel himself to a touchdown, everyone cries. Cut to commercial, Eli and Peyton Manning licking Oreos. ---
**Author:** ![PopeJewish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@PopeJewish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PopeJewish)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2009, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-the-cardinals-plane-crashes/483217/10 "2009-01-27T23:51:00Z")
> [@fusoya](#): > > Don’t have a factual answer, but my guess is that it would be such a travesty (anytime a fatal plane crash occurs with regular civilians, it’s the news story of the month), that the super bowl would be canceled, and replaced with plenty of footage of why every person on that plane was an AMERICAN HERO. **And some right wing nutcase would demand that the NFL be shut down so that this can never happen again**. He would also claim it was a terrorist atack :rolleyes: Other than that this is probably dead on. With so many famous people dying on the same plane, it would be a pretty big tragedy. It’d be hard to conceive of them simply upjumping the one of the second-place teams just to have a super bowl, they’d go on for weeks about the tragedy etc etc ---
**Author:** ![Oakminster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/77aa72/32.png) [@Oakminster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oakminster)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2009, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-the-cardinals-plane-crashes/483217/11 "2009-01-27T23:58:09Z")
> [@fusoya](#): > > And some right wing nutcase would demand that the NFL be shut down so that this can never happen again. Many of us to the right of center like football. Far more likely to be some left wing fruit loop trying to shut it down. ---
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2009, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-the-cardinals-plane-crashes/483217/12 "2009-01-28T00:48:52Z")
In 2002, it required a major effort to move the Super Bowl one week after the NFL season was postponed one week after Sept. 11. However, I do think the Eagles would be drafted to fill in for the Cardinals after a one week delay. Tampa isn’t quite the convention center that pre-Katrina New Orleans was so I imagine they could work something out. I think the NFL would quickly toss another Super Bowl hosting year to Phoenix to ‘compensate’ ---
**Author:** ![HongKongFooey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c4cdca/32.png) [@HongKongFooey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HongKongFooey)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2009, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-the-cardinals-plane-crashes/483217/13 "2009-01-28T01:44:26Z")
> [@Oakminster](#): > > Many of us to the right of center like football. Far more likely to be some left wing fruit loop trying to shut it down. All competitive sports are evil because it hurts the losing players’ self-esteem!! ---
**Author:** ![mshar253](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/6de8d8/32.png) [@mshar253](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mshar253)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2009, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-the-cardinals-plane-crashes/483217/14 "2009-01-28T01:49:16Z")
> [@dalej42](#): > > In 2002, it required a major effort to move the Super Bowl one week after the NFL season was postponed one week after Sept. 11. However, I do think the Eagles would be drafted to fill in for the Cardinals after a one week delay. Tampa isn’t quite the convention center that pre-Katrina New Orleans was so I imagine they could work something out. I think the NFL would quickly toss another Super Bowl hosting year to Phoenix to ‘compensate’ So… I should start devising a way to take out the Cards within the next few days? 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2009, 4:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-the-cardinals-plane-crashes/483217/15 "2009-01-28T04:24:04Z")
> [@Harmonious\_Discord](#): > > That’s what I thought the thread was going to be about. I guess the title should have said Steeler’s instead. Well, someone mysteriously fixed the apostrophe in the thread title, but not in the OP. Cue the _Twilight Zone_ theme music… ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2009, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-the-cardinals-plane-crashes/483217/16 "2009-01-29T14:50:18Z")
> [@PopeJewish](#): > > He would also claim it was a terrorist atack :rolleyes: Or that it was an attack secretly orchestrated by our government for who-knows-what weird reason. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Moto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9de0a6/32.png) [@Mr.Moto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Moto)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2009, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-the-cardinals-plane-crashes/483217/17 "2009-01-29T15:24:45Z")
Meh. If you read sports message boards you’ll find little distrust of government in this regard - but lots of distrust in Vegas and other less legitimate gamblers. They exploded after the regular season Steelers-Chargers game this year - millions of people really believed (and still do) that the fix was in. ---
**Author:** ![Enright3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/enright3/32/2897_2.png) [@Enright3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enright3)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2009, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-the-cardinals-plane-crashes/483217/18 "2009-01-29T20:07:33Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > Oh, the difference apostrophe placement makes. I thought this thread was about how the Pope fills unexpected vacancies. 😉 It’s what I thought too. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2009, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-the-cardinals-plane-crashes/483217/19 "2009-01-29T21:06:39Z")
> [@fusoya](#): > > Don’t have a factual answer, but my guess is that it would be such a travesty (anytime a fatal plane crash occurs with regular civilians, it’s the news story of the month), that the super bowl would be canceled, and replaced with plenty of footage of why every person on that plane was an AMERICAN HERO. And some right wing nutcase would demand that the NFL be shut down so that this can never happen again. I think you mean “tragedy.” A travesty is a debased imitation. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2009, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-the-cardinals-plane-crashes/483217/20 "2009-01-31T02:41:39Z")
My guess is that someone would blame the Steelers. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-the-cardinals-plane-crashes/483217.md?page=2)