FanSection Blog

Zach Colick, a diehard Cardinals fan and current News Editor at the Town of Paradise Valley Independent, contributes a contrasting view describing Arizona’s long and arduous journey to Super Bowl XLIII.

The countdown to kickoff for Super Bowl XLIII is just days away and the Arizona Cardinals — yes, the Arizona Cardinals — find themselves in unchartered territory for the first time in the franchise’s storied, losing history.

Not since 1947 have the Red Birds tasted an NFL championship, before the NFL began coining the phrase “Super Bowl” to award the league’s annual champion. The 62-year drought is the second longest in major professional sports, trailing only the loveable losers, Chicago Cubs, in championship futility.

While the Cubs have sniffed the doorstep of the World Series since 1908 with multiple NLCS appearances, the Cardinals’ shot at the Super Bowl, let alone a postseason victory whatsoever, is unprecedented territory. The team has been regarded as one of the worst and poorest-run franchises in all of professional sports.

Signing big-name free agents, drafting the correct player for the team’s needs (year after year, a stronger offensive line never got addressed) and, oh, you know, having their OWN stadium to attract big-name free agents and fans was something the Cardinals never seemed too quick in addressing.  But with the University of Phoenix Stadium in place, the drafting of USC quarterback and Heisman Trophy winner Matt Leinart and signing of free agent Edgerrin James within the past five years, Cardinal fans, including myself, saw a glimmer of hope for this inept franchise. Maybe the Cardinals’ front office staff were, indeed, interested in winning.

Seeing this magical season unfold the way it has with magnificent playoff football by the offense AND defense, however, was a dream no one saw coming for a LONG, LONG time.

Now, the Valley is going bananas and fans, albeit those from the very beginning in 1988 or those who have recently jumped on the bandwagon, finally have something to celebrate after 20 years.

Twenty years!

Since that time, the city of Phoenix was awarded a Major League Baseball franchise in 1998. In just four seasons, the Arizona Diamondbacks won the World Series. The Phoenix Suns, the Valley’s most storied and most successful sports franchise, appeared in their second-ever NBA Finals in 1993, only to be denied a championship with a John Paxson 3-pointer.

Well, the times are a changin’.  Now, Cardinals flags, signs and other paraphernalia are adorned on people’s cars and houses. Cardinals jerseys are being worn around town — and not just on Sundays.

Arizona Republic columnist Dan Bickley recently wrote about how quarterback Kurt Warner spent a Friday afternoon at a Valley park, watching his daughter play softball. Nearby, a group of teenagers were picking sides for a game of football.

Each side wanted to be … get ready for this … the Arizona Cardinals.

Does it get any better than that, Cardinals fans?

But rather than celebrate the Cards’ ascent to football stardom as the NFL’s newest darlings — like so many media-types did last year with the Tampa Bay Rays — football writers, commentators, bloggers and football fans in general have disregarded the team’s success as a fluke.

After all, the NFC West won a combined 22 games this season.

The Cardinals, who went 9-7, have been pegged as the worst team to reach the Super Bowl, ever.

Ever? Puhh-lease.

10-6.  That’s just one more win this season than the Cardinals achieved. That was also the record of last year’s Super Bowl champions, the New York Giants, who beat the previously unbeaten New England Patriots.  Actually, the Giants’ playoff success compares quite the same with the Cards: A wildcard team with three big playoff wins en route to the Super Bowl.

But rather than talk about those three HUGE playoff wins, the media is still hatin’.  For example, the media’s love affair in revisiting wide receiver Anquan Boldin’s sideline meltdown with offensive coordinator Todd Haley has been overblown like the weekly Britney and Brangelina updates on Access Hollywood and TMZ.  All sides have come clean, saying the situation has been resolved. Q even laughed off the whole incident during a recent press conference.

So,  where is the Cards love?

The Cardinals have remained mentally fresh and focused during their incredible playoff run, “acting like they have been there before,” and I expect the same during the Super Bowl. The team relishes its underdog role and hopes more smack talk comes their way.

“Embrace it,” Warner said, when asked his advice to teammates, according to the Bickley article.

This type of big-game intensity fuels Kurt Warner. Wide receiver extraordinaire Larry Fitzgerald has shown he can make the most spectacular of catches and ridiculous plays look incredibly easy. Expect some sick catches by Fitz to make the SportsCenter Top 10 come Feb. 1.

Overall, the Cardinals have stepped up when they needed to during their playoff run and showed the country this team’s incredible offensive prowess.  Still, the media will say a big-time Cardinals defeat Feb. 1 will show how weak the NFC was this season.

I beg to differ.  Even with a loss, the Cardinals have shown all it takes is playing tough, inspired football at the right time and by the ENTIRE team is the recipe for success. Taking advantage of teams when they’re down — Jake Delhomme’s five interceptions, thank you very much — always plays a vital role in winning big games.

Yet, there’s every reason to believe this team can beat the Steelers, especially if all the stars are aligned. The Cardinals have flipped their image from being the worst team in history to one of the hotter ones in postseason memory. After impressive performances against Atlanta and Carolina, the Big Red can finish off both teams from Pennsylvania, and what a powerful statement that would make.

It would validate them as a team to be reckoned with for years to come.

Now comes the Cardinals’ ultimate test to-date. This is their moment.