I've been on these boards for awhile. Some of you know that I spent some time in the Cards press box. I've never been a Cards fan, though. I was at the game when Lomax beat the 49ers, and I still never let the Cards in my heart for many reasons, mostly because the Suns and the Sun Devils gave me enough heart ache to last me a lifetime. I didn't need another team.
But I know some of you have been on board since 1988 and you have taken **** not only from opposing fans, but from your own media and even opposing fans in who inexplicably maintain allegiances to other teams while living here. That's inexcusable. But not you. You were all about the hometown team. You took criticism for the organization. You were even criticized for the occasional fair-weathered fan, but that didn't define you. You shrugged it all off and stuck with your team, putting your money where your heart was, paying big dollars for seasons tickets for a team that never had provided an inkling of hope.
Today is your payday. Mucho congrats.
I recall a column I wrote in 2001 criticizing the stadium site selection committee. I took the head guy to task for wasting money and dragging his feet, knowing full well the Cards ownership and management wanted to stay in the East Valley. Yet, the only place that made sense was Glendale. They had the land. They also had the fans, even if they weren't the kind with the demographics that made marketing folks happy. That stadium belonged there. That was the Cards destiny. That was where their good karma rested. That is where the heart of Valley football exists.
That's you. The blue collar fan who, even though you're not sure you'll have a job on Monday, you're there on Sunday because this team is important to you.
My hat is off. I salute you. You have raised the bar for Arizona sports fans everywhere. You define what being a great sportstown is about -- not because today you are celebrating, but because today you are in celebrating being out of the shadows of 21 years lost in the wilderness.
Neither Phoenix nor Arizona deserve this. I don't deserve this. I am but a spectator of the masses. But Cards fans do. Relish it. You've earned it.
But I know some of you have been on board since 1988 and you have taken **** not only from opposing fans, but from your own media and even opposing fans in who inexplicably maintain allegiances to other teams while living here. That's inexcusable. But not you. You were all about the hometown team. You took criticism for the organization. You were even criticized for the occasional fair-weathered fan, but that didn't define you. You shrugged it all off and stuck with your team, putting your money where your heart was, paying big dollars for seasons tickets for a team that never had provided an inkling of hope.
Today is your payday. Mucho congrats.
I recall a column I wrote in 2001 criticizing the stadium site selection committee. I took the head guy to task for wasting money and dragging his feet, knowing full well the Cards ownership and management wanted to stay in the East Valley. Yet, the only place that made sense was Glendale. They had the land. They also had the fans, even if they weren't the kind with the demographics that made marketing folks happy. That stadium belonged there. That was the Cards destiny. That was where their good karma rested. That is where the heart of Valley football exists.
That's you. The blue collar fan who, even though you're not sure you'll have a job on Monday, you're there on Sunday because this team is important to you.
My hat is off. I salute you. You have raised the bar for Arizona sports fans everywhere. You define what being a great sportstown is about -- not because today you are celebrating, but because today you are in celebrating being out of the shadows of 21 years lost in the wilderness.
Neither Phoenix nor Arizona deserve this. I don't deserve this. I am but a spectator of the masses. But Cards fans do. Relish it. You've earned it.
