Cardinals fans at draft party thrilled about trade for wide receiver Marquise Brown

When Cardinals sideline reporter Paul Calvisi walked onstage Thursday night, a few fans expressed their displeasure. That's because the big screens showing the end of the Suns' playoff game changed to a live feed of Calvisi speaking.

That frustration, however, quickly turned to jubilation at the Cardinals' NFL draft party in Glendale.

Calvisi announced that Arizona had traded their first-round pick for Baltimore Ravens wide receiver Marquise Brown. The fans closest to the stage shouted in celebration, jumping up and down and lifting their hands into the air collectively. Their cheers grew once again when they were told that Brown, a college teammate of Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray, and team owner Michael Bidwill would speak to them live in a matter of minutes.

"There was no first-round talent in the draft that could've matched Marquise Brown," said Todd Bookout of Glendale. "Marquise Brown is an established receiver in this league and we got that for a first-round pick. Sign me up."

Cardinals fans might have missed out on the fireworks planned for the announcement of Arizona's first-round pick, but they received another reward minutes later. The Suns clinched their playoff series win over the New Orleans Pelicans.

"It's a great time to be alive," said Javier Pena, standing steps away from the big screen showing the Suns game.

When Bidwell and Brown — donning a Cardinals hat — finally arrived, fans roared in excitement. Red and yellow lights sparkled the stage as the Bidwill and his team's newest player spoke about Murray and Brown's role in an explosive offense. Pointing their phone cameras towards the speedy wide receiver, they chanted "Hollywood," Brown's nickname, and went ballistic when Bidwill brought up the possibility of the Cardinals playing for the Super Bowl at home in 2023.

“I think it was in the works officially for the last few days," said Bidwill, who flew Brown from Las Vegas to Arizona. "It really heated up over the last couple of days. We were pretty excited about it and the whole key was to keep it quiet until we got to the 14th pick.

"I snuck up to Las Vegas this afternoon. Picked up 'Hollywood' and his girlfriend."

Brown called his partnership with Murray "the best thing for me in the league," leading to loud applause. In 2018, his final year at Oklahoma, Brown caught 75 passes for 1,318 yards and 10 touchdowns from Murray. He added the two are best friends who worked out with one another in the offseason.

"He’s one of my best friends," Brown said. "We’ve been talking about this for a while so when it finally was able to happen, we both would have been excited and were smiling.

“I know what he's thinking. He knows what I'm thinking. I've been throwing with him the last couple of weeks. It's been great.”

Added Bidwill: "All we heard about what a great competitor he is. Just an incredible competitor, incredible person, incredible teammate, and incredibly hard-working. The good thing is he's familiar with Arizona. The last few years, he's been out here training with several other NFL players as well."

Making an effort to appear at the event was appreciated by fans.

"We've been out here all evening and (it was) really nice for him to show up and talk to us a little bit," Leah Riddell said.

Excitement had been building throughout the night, especially since it was the team's first draft party in two years because of the pandemic. The gates to State Farm Stadium's Great Lawn opened at 4 p.m., and the Cardinals' faithful quickly got to work supporting their team.

Some visited booths selling memorabilia of former players such as Patrick Peterson. Others shopped for merchandise in a pop-up team store and sampled the numerous food trucks parked on the grass. A few kids even wound up the Big Red air raid siren or tried the zip line and rock climbing wall.

Later, players such as cornerback Jace Whittaker, running back Alfonso Smith and linebacker Devon Kennard signed autographs. Mascot Big Red took to the stage after the draft's 13th pick, dancing along with cheerleaders waving pom-poms.

But nothing compared to the environment after Brown's arrival to the Valley was announced. Even though it got a little quieter near the end of the first round, fans exuberantly discussed Brown's addition to a receiving corps that includes All-Pro DeAndre Hopkins and Rondale Moore.

"We have two No. 1 wide receivers right now," said Danny Heaton, standing next to Bookout. "If one of them gets hurt, we have another No. 1. It's (the biggest) security blanket we could possibly have.

"A rookie will not be able to do that. But Marquise Brown can do that."

To end the night, fans were eventually rewarded with those fireworks. As shades of purple, green, red and white lit up the night sky above the stadium, songs from The Weeknd, Katy Perry and OneRepublic blasted from the stage.

The Cardinals' resuming their annual party was not only a return to tradition for numerous fans like Eugene Munoz, who traveled from Tucson with his wife and four children.

It gave the team's fans a night to remember, both in the near future and on Sundays in the fall.

"It's awesome," Munoz said. "It felt like home."

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: New WR Marquise Brown makes surprise appearance at Cardinals draft party