Rooting for the Arizona Cardinals in rival territory

Growing up a fan of the Arizona Cardinals’ organization in Philadelphia Eagles’ territory has been a very challenging task

It was roughly 42 years ago when the infatuation with the Arizona Cardinals’ franchise started. When you’re a young boy who was born in South Philadelphia and then became a resident of Southern New Jersey, you almost don’t have a choice. Root for the Philadelphia Eagles or be forever cast out of an area of the United States that’s extremely loyal to their sports teams.

In this case, however, that just never happened. This fan turned his back on his hometown and has been a loyal follower of the Cardinals ever since.

The all-important life choice of which NFL team to root for happened for this diehard around the year 1975. St. Louis was the home of the Cards at the time. There were a solid club in the mid-70’s, having had double-digit wins for three consecutive years (1974-76).

Just like they’re most likely to be doing when they face the Eagles in South Philly this Sunday, the Cardinals threw the ball a ton back then. Head coach Don Coryell’s offense, “Air Coryell”, was basically predicated on ignoring the run game, and chucking the rock downfield. Names like Jim Hart, Terry Metcalf, Dan Dierdorf and Mel Gray were all part of an exciting scoring machine that was fun to watch.

While giving allegiance to the organization seemed like a wise decision at the time, a long dry spell ensued. The loyalty to the Cards was severely tested when the club made the playoffs just once between 1977 and 1997. Their lone appearance was during the strike-shortened campaign of 1982. They packed their bags and moved to the desert in 1988, becoming the Phoenix and then Arizona Cardinals.

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During that time period, the hometown Eagles were achieving at least a bit of success. They appeared in the playoffs from 1978-81, landing in the Super Bowl following the 1980 season. After a down period of their own, the Eagles put together another postseason streak starting in 1988 and ending in 1992.

All the while, the hecklers were out in full force. Eagles’ loyalists didn’t appreciate one of their own cheering for another team. Especially one that was a division rival (for the younger fans who aren’t aware, the Cardinals once made their home in the NFC East).

Arizona made cheering for them worthwhile when they broke out of the shackles and made the playoffs following the 1998 campaign. A skinny quarterback out of Arizona State, Jake “the Snake” Plummer, provided many thrills in guiding his teammates to a 9-7 record. The Cards’ 20-7 dismantling of the Dallas Cowboys in the first round of that year’s postseason is one of the greatest achievements in franchise history.

Unfortunately, another playoffs-less period for the Cardinals occurred between 1999 and 2007. However, a Cinderella season led by a supposedly washed-up signal-caller was just ahead.

Hall of Famer Kurt Warner led Arizona to their one and only Super Bowl following the 2008 season. Included during that ride was a monumental NFC Championship game between the Cards and Eagles, won 32-25 by the Redbirds. The adopted team and the hometown club met on a huge stage, bringing a range of emotions never experienced before during a sports contest by this fan.

Yet another meeting between the two rivals will occur this weekend. Again, it will be time to cheer against the hometown Eagles. Time to be an enemy to family, friends, a girlfriend and one’s hometown once again.

If only for three and a half hours on a football Sunday. Oh well. No one ever said the life of a Cardinals’ fan would be easy,

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