The 1997 season in Memphis proved to be almost as disastrous as the prior years in the Astrodome, largely because the arrangement was very unpopular in both Memphis and Nashville. Whether from disappointment at their city's numerous failures to get professional football in its own right, their longtime rivalry with Nashville, mere lack of interest in professional football in general (the Canadian Football League's Memphis Mad Dogs, who had played in Memphis two years prior, was one of the worst attended teams in that league as well) or general disgust at the prospect of a team that was only there for a temporary stay, Memphians showed no interest in the Oilers. Nashvillians balked at traveling 210 miles to see "their" team, especially since Interstate 40 between the two cities was undergoing a major reconstruction near Memphis. As a result, the Oilers played before some of the smallest NFL crowds since the 1950s. None of the first seven games in Memphis attracted more than 27,000 fans—not even half of the Liberty Bowl's capacity of 62,000.