A Tribute to the New NFL Season and Arizona Cardinal Fans

As fans of the Arizona Cardinals, we have seen a lot of bad over the years. I’d recant some of terrible times we have had, but why bring up miserable memories? There were many days I wondered why I followed the team and suffered through terrible season after terrible season. I had very little faith in the team, yet despite it all, I clung to my team, and the football gods awarded me and fellow fans for our devotion.

They gave us Larry Fitzgerald, Kurt Warner, Darnell Docket, Adrian Wilson, Calais Campbell and Levi Brown (just kidding), plus tons of young and upcoming talent like Patrick Peterson, Daryl Washington and Sam Acho. If I told you 10 years ago that one day the team would have tons of talent on the same roster, you would have scoffed at me and asked if I was actually a cruel Cowboys fan in disguise.

For the first time, we have a franchise that is making the right moves. We are retaining our best talent and building a culture oriented around a team first mentality, focused on hard work and success. Fans are genuinely optimistic about the future. Sure, we have a QB dilemma going on right now, but are you worried about the future? I’m not. The front office has won my faith. The Cardinals didn’t go after Peyton Manning because they didn’t like the QB’s already on the roster (well maybe…), they went after Manning because all the organization wants to do is win. I’m down for that.

Now, don’t get me wrong here, I’m not saying everything is golden. I am not that big of a homer. We have issues. I mean, seriously, Graves, Derrick Anderson? What the four-letter-word-were you thinking? Joey Porter? Alan Faneca? Picking up those aged veterans made me think that we were vultures picking at dead carcasses.

Right now, both our RB’s have injury concerns and we don’t know if the offensive line can actually play. Who will play RT (really, does anyone know why Bobby Massie slipped? It makes me nervous). Is the defensive legit? Will the young guys step up and deliver?

Despite the question marks, most of us believe. And at the end of the day, that’s all that matters. I want to believe every game that we could win it. It makes the game that much more engaging and the entire experience better.

So here’s to a new season of football, to lifetime Arizona Cardinals fans and to having many more players like Adrian Wilson play for our team. Football's back!