Prodigal 'Cards

With Obama's inauguration tomorrow, the entire world waits to see what changes are in store - the Arizona Cardinal's decided to get the party started early. After storming down the field with an 8 minute drive to finish the Eagles, the Cardinals are playing in the Super Bowl for the first time since even my parents were born! This equally unlikely and incredible season will end in Tampa, with a chance - their first chance in 61 years - at football glory. Decades of misery and embarassment are finally paying dividends - victory tastes that much better to those who could only celebrate the diluted success of adopted teams.

To help those unfamiliar with just how terrible the Cardinals have been, here's a summary of their 'accomplishments' from the LA Times:

"The oldest continuously run pro football franchise in the country will have a chance to win its first championship in 61 years, and its third championship in 110 years. An organization so cheap it once charged players the Federal Express cost of mailing their contracts is playing in the richest sporting event in the country. A team so poorly run it once gave players only one pair of socks per season is playing in the most popular sporting event in the country. They once lost 29 games in a row. They once lost the keys to their workout facility during Joe Montana's free-agent visit, and he never came back. They once threw a game-winning touchdown pass on the final play of the final game of the 2003 season . . . and the victory cost them the No. 1 overall draft pick. They once had to use a silent snap count because the stadium was filled with the angry roar of an opposing crowd . . . during one of their home games. In the last 24 years, they have had a winning record twice."

"Arguably the worst professional sports franchise in this country's history is going to be a participant in its biggest sporting event. "

It's a changing of guard of sorts - with Lute Olsen's retirement, the Az Wildcat basketball program is in a tailspin that will likely end the longest active streak of tourney appearances... but what better way to cope than with a Stanley Cup victory, an Az Wildcat football upset bowl win, and a trip for the 'Cards to the Super Bowl (most surprising of all)! Go Cards!