The funeral services for former Arizona Cardinals owner Bill Bidwill were held Tuesday in Phoenix at St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church. Hundreds attended the service to remember and honor him. There were former players, employees and many more in attendance. Among those to speak at the funeral was Cardinals receiver Larry Fitzgerald.
You can see his address in its entirety in the video above, posted on YouTube by AZ Central Sports.
Among some of the highlights of the speech, he mentions the following:
- The number of former players in attendance
- He said Bidwill was never a man about following trends, as Fitz poked fun at the bowtie he always wore. Bidwill’s motivation for his diverse hirings were not motivated by social pressure or trends. It was because he did what he felt was right.
- He loved his family.
- He loved to laugh and tell jokes, though Fitz notes Bidwill was telling bad dad jokes long before people called them that.
- Fitz said Bidwill followed his heart, which was the motivation for his private philanthropy.
- Bidwill meant a lot to the Cardinals and to the NFL.
- Fitzgerald thanked the Bidwill children for sharing their father with him and the players.
- Fitzgerald lamented how many players recently never had the chance to meet Mr. B.
- He joked that Bidwill loved to go to Mass but not necessarily spend long there. He said Bidwill would have told him to “move it along” with his speech.
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