A Mike Life – The Life of Mike!

Super Bowl Sunday featuring your Arizona Cardinals

// January 31st, 2009 // family

I’m trying to get over the fact that the Arizona Cardinals playing in the Super Bowl feels like a dream. Everyone keeps talking about how this is  sign of the “apocalypse” or “the end times are indeed nigh.” Even I can’t believe it when I say it.

But it’s Super Bowl Sunday now and it’s time to accept it. The Cardinals will play the Steelers today and they deserve to be here and earned it like everyone else.

Even though most of them don’t read my blog, I wanted to talk about some friends of mine today. I’ve run a website called ArizonaSportsFans.com since 2002. Contrary to popular belief, there ARE tons of Cardinals fans out there, die-hards who have been supporting the team during all their losing years.

The messageboard on that site was always made up of 40% Cardinals fans, 60% Suns/Dbacks/Coyotes and other. You might think that impossible…that the Cards fans could outnumber Suns. But it’s true. Or maybe it’s just proof that football is always the #1 sport in the country.

Either way, this day belongs to those guys. And to me.

Some of you know I used to do sports writing and part of that was covering the Cardinals training camps and games. What a blast. I was there when Adrian Wilson was drafted by the Cards in 2001. I remember people saying he had talent, but needed to learn a lot.

I met countless fans from our site while at training camp and before games. We’d meet for a drink at the Timberwolf down in Tempe and then head to the game. I really, really enjoyed covering this team and passing on information to our readers.

These guys loved their team despite agonizing after agonizing season. Personally, in recent years, I felt like giving up and finding another team. It was almost too much to handle the constant and unending losing.

But here we are and boy does it feel sweet. I know all my friends on that site have lived for this day. A bunch of them even spent small fortunes to make sure they are in Tampa today to watch the game in person. So excited to hear what it was like from them later on.

Win or lose, I’m going to enjoy the game. This team has come so far and earned the love of everyone in this city. Guys like Kurt Warner and Larry Fitzgerald are genuine men…good men, who represent the sport well. Adrian Wilson’s tears after beating the Eagles…he’d been here for 8 long years and finally made it to the big game.

I’m just so proud of these guys and can’t wait to watch this game. But I’m also already excited for next year…because when you come off a playoff run like this, you can’t help but roll into next season feeling confident.

And when is the last time that happened for us Cards fans?

My prediction is Arizona 31-21. Go Cards!