It's important to understand something before we get all tangled up in the boatloads of storylines of the Super Bowl.
The 2008 Cardinals are the perfect-yet-illogical culmination of five nail-biting, heart-wrenching, lovable yet demonic seasons. They were difficult, exciting, depressing, and encouraging--sometimes separately, sometimes simultaneously.
But, they set the precedent for what has delivered the Cardinals tickets to the Big Show in Tampa.
The Cardinals, as a team, hit rock bottom following the departure of Jake Plummer, the recently named "Greatest Arizona Cardinal" by ESPN.
Following that 2002 season, the Cardinals vested the [immediate] future of their team in one Jeff Blake, who, like other Bengals quarterbacks such as Jon Kitna and Akili Smith, (who?) will be recognized forever for his unquestionable mediocrity.
His career 39-61 record as a starting quarterback certainly was not going to help make the Cardinals contenders. And he lived up to the promise, carrying the team to a 3-10 record before getting yanked late in the season.
It was that season's finish that seemed to plant a new age of Cardinals existence. The team established their long-term status as a talented passing team when a young Josh McCown along with the budding rookie Anquan Boldin created a lot of energy in the Cardinals' old digs at Sun Devil Stadium.
An element of their turnaround—not exactly a cause or a defining moment—was their regular season finale victory against Minnesota in 2003. One could say the Cardinals had no business to win the game; said Minnesota radio guy Paul Allen: "What do you have to play for, you're 3-12!". Moreover, it cost them a high draft pick. But the high intensity and grit of Josh McCown emanated into the team that day (knocking the Vikings out of the playoffs in the process) and one could trace much excitement and promise back to this day.
The win set a precedent for the Cardinals, a precedent that still holds true: Arizona can play with the best, particularly at home. And they can really screw things up for other teams.
The excitement of a proven coach (Dennis Green) in 2004 along with the excitement of a new stadium instilled in the souls of both Cardinals fans and players alike.
Even with the addition of Green, the team still clearly lacked consistency. No one will dispute that. What changed in Arizona? They wanted to win, and sometimes they even did. Sometimes they won without any good reaso.
Four seasons of complete madness followed. There were times the Cardinals were clearly on the brink of greatness, only to be followed mere seconds later by incompetence and idiocy. What Denny Green couldn't get rid of were those nasty 4-12, 5-11, and 6-10 seasons. They just didn't go away.
The 2006 season in particular was the penultimate "shoulda, woulda, coulda" for the Cardinals. In Denny Green's final year, they posted a 5-11 record that, in defense of Green, reflected poorly the real talent of the team. The clear story of the team, of course, was their inability to finish and win close games.
Let's not forget what could have been. The Cardinals were two missed field goals and a fumble away from second in the division. And let us not forget the infamous Bears game, a microcosm of the spontaneous and psychotic changes in Cardinals fortune and performance.
2007 was almost a carbon copy of 2006, but with one clear difference: At the helm was Ken Whisenhunt, a man with a plan. This time, three missed game winning field goals literally meant the difference between the Cardinals making and missing the playoffs.
So along comes 2008. Boldin? On the brink of holding out, though he never really did. Did they solve their running-game issues? Nope, still Edge and this rookie Hightower. Any other new players? Sure, a few holes here and there that filled, but not really.
Who's the quarterback? After nabbing USC pretty boy Matt Leinart, it was thought that, for sure, Leinart is the future of the franchise (and he is). And Matt Leinart really wanted to lead this team (and he does).
So it's the logical choice to pick him over the old, worn out, fumbling and bumbling Kurt Warner, right?
Wrong. 2008 saw Warner beat out Leinart for the starting spot. It seemed inconceivable, almost illogical, that Warner would have the job. Probably another Jeff Blake kind of year.
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