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Arizona finally earns respect
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For years and years, the Arizona Cardinals were the Siberia of the NFL (after Detroit of course), with marquee players heading to the desert for a paycheck and not much else. Emmitt Smith gave it a try after his glory days in Dallas and most recently Edgerrin James made the trek from Indianapolis to Arizona. James appeared to follow Smith’s footsteps falling into obscurity but all of a sudden something amazing happened, the Cards became relevant.
This season, as in many seasons past, the Cardinals were usually billed as the preseason darlings with a talented roster and the optimism to take the next step. However, each year they never lived up to the hype usually finishing out of the playoffs and never earning the respect of the media or fans across the country. Well, with a 32-25 win against the Philadelphia Eagles this past Sunday, Arizona has shed the choker label after winning the NFC championship and are poised for even bigger things as they get set to face the Pittsburgh Steelers in the Super Bowl. It’s actually a perfect draw for the Cardinals, they get to go after that elusive championship against one of the most storied franchises in the NFL, and they wouldn’t want it any other way.
From the incredible story of quarterback Kurt Warner, who was spectacular in the championship game completing 21 of 28 passes for 279 yards to the emergence of one of the best receivers in the NFL, Larry Fitzgerald who finally showcased his talents on a big stage with 152 yards and a record tying three touchdowns in the game. Warner, as he has done his whole career, came out of nowhere to wrestle the starting job from Matt Leinart and just missed MVP honors this season. Warner went from near retirement to starting another Super Bowl adding to his already impressive resume since he led the “greatest show on turf.”
Head coach Ken Whisenhunt adds another interesting plot line as he goes up against his former team to earn a championship after resurrecting this franchise after only a couple of years on the job. It was only a couple of weeks ago everyone picked this team as the worst unit in the playoffs after they floundered down the stretch to finish 9-7 after clinching their division earlier in the season. Nobody, I mean nobody, picked this team to get this far but here they are after impressive wins against Atlanta, Carolina and now Philadelphia.
This team cannot be a question mark anymore; they have arrived and all of a sudden have a roster filled with talent and a coach who has pushed all the right buttons. Can this be the start of a run that sees the Cards make a playoff push for years to come? Maybe, but I’ll tell you this, don’t doubt them anymore.
As with the whole season, Arizona is already coming in as a seven point underdog from the odds makers and I’m sure they wouldn’t want it any other way. Why would they? Keep doubting they are for real and they keep winning to prove everyone wrong. That is their motivation and we will soon see if it is enough to become champions of the NFL. Even if they fall short of that goal, they have done one thing this year; prove to everyone that they are relevant.
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