Cardinals 2009

Notes from the game. Very, very rarely do I feel like making a timely entry. Even more rarely is the entry is not about something that I did. And the final rarity is that this entry is about a team that plays a sport that I definitely haven't engaged in, for many years.

Arizona Cardinals. The first bit of awesomeness is that the two words mean something. Hard work, skill, determination, luck, perserverance, faith and the whole gamut of memes that make a team championship worthy.

The second bit of awesomness is how they handled themselves in Superbowl XLIII. Pitted (ha, ha) against a team that beats them in almost every facet of the game, they held their own and all but won.

I'm sure the press will point to the end of the first half, or the penalties, or some other part of the game that can be easily measured. The point, to me, is that the idea of the 'team that plays the best'. Pro football, unlike pro basketball, doesn't have the luxury of determining the 'best' team. It is the team that executes the best over the course of a maximum of 19 games.

For the Cards, it was a phenomenal ride. This last game felt like two. The first three quarters vs. the fourth quarter. Warner's post-game interview gave us hope that he's not retiring. Either way, goals were met and exceeded. The Cards executed brilliantly and whatever is made of the Steelers' victory it's hard to believe. From a Cards fan's point of view, the victory was stolen (ha, ha). From a NFL fan's point of view, the game felt like it was over-officiated.

In the end, I feel like the Steelers were out-coached -- and we gave them such a run for the money that it should be difficult for them to be proud.

I feel the party I was at, was awesome.

And I feel extremely proud that the Cards did what they did. Go Red Birds!