You could live anywhere in the country and wonder what just happened.

You don't have to witness it first-hand, like we have.

The Arizona Cardinals have been one of *the* perennial hard-luck teams.

In their 21 years in the Valley, they had one winning season.

During that season they went to the play-offs. They won one game, then lost the next.

An original members of the NFL- that was their only shot anywhere near the Super Bowl.

You'd have to go back to 1947 to find a championship of any kind.

So... it came as quite a surprise that this team got off to a fair start this season.

Then, it was an even larger shock that theymade the playoffs and beat Atlanta.

Then Carolina.

This team from the weakest conference in football somehow managed to upend two teams from the strongest conference.

Their porous defense held two of the three best running backs (as measured in yards per game) to miserable lows.

The pundits were shocked.

The opponents were shocked.

Anyone who knew anything about football just couldn't believe that the weakest team in the playoffs was winning.

Winnig BIG, even.

I'd like to say that I saw this coming.

I've been a fan... but a largely silent one.

Many years ago my father was invited to try out for the Cardinals.

I've followed them through years of futility.

Like following the Chicago Cubs- it's difficult to root for the Cardinals out loud.

There are just too many naysayers who well let you know how silly it is to make a case for your team.

There are a few unwritten rules in sports.

The Cubs don't go to the World Series... and the Cardinals don't go to the Super Bowl.

It's just the way it has been for many, many decades.

All that changed Sunday.

And I still can't believe it.

Feb. 1 is the biggest day in television.

For $100,000 you can buy 1 second of air time on a program seen around the world.

Of course, they'll make you buy the other 29 seconds to go along with it.

Three million dollars is what you pay for a Super Bowl commercial.

This- for a game involving our Cardinals?

They've hit the big time.

They played like a team.

They ignored their doubters.

And they've made it... they have a chance to win it all.

Of course, the odds are against them...

... just as they've been all season.

Can the Cardinals win?

We'll soon find out.

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For tickets to the game, go to the official site by clicking on the image above of this text link: AZCardinals.com

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