Could this be the year of the Cardinals? You know, the football team?

I am a fan of Arizona sports teams. In particular, I like the NBA Suns and NFL Cardinals. The Suns have had a lot of success over the years, although until last year, they had a long drought (desert analogy intentional). But the Cardinals, oh my. They have been one of the most consistently worst teams in NFL history. From their origins as the Chicago Cardinals to the St. Louis Cardinals to the Phoenix Cardinals and now Arizona Cardinals, they just have stunk it up. But this year, they brought on Kurt Warner. Their new coach, Dennis Green (former Vikings coach) was bringing a new attitude. Finally, the Cardinals could be making a run for it. So here they are at the beginning of the season 0-3. Another year down the drain.

For years Phoenix had been starved for NFL football. When they got the Cardinals, they were ecstatic, until they saw exactly what they were inheriting . . .a perennial loser. The irony is, had they waited a few more years, they could have gotten the relocating Houston Oilers or Los Angeles Rams. The Oilers became the Tennessee Titans and have done very well. The Rams of course moved to St. Louis and beat the Titans in the Super Bowl and have had a very successful time of it in St. Louis.

In their first two years in Phoenix, I was a season ticket holder. Very hard to get tickets at first. By the end of their first season, very easy. During their second year. . . very, very easy. In fact, one day I went to a game when they were playing the Redskins. Someone just simply handed me a ticket in the club box section, where you get free drinks and snacks and have people waiting on you. Needless to say, I didn't make any money reselling my end zone tickets that season.