Everybody spit out your beverages in unison. The Arizona Cardinals are playing in the Super Bowl.
Wait, what? Say that again? The Cardinals, the eternal bottom-feeders of the NFL, will be playing for the championship this Sunday? The same Cardinals who would have lost to the St. Louis baseball franchise of the same name in a football game two years ago? The same Cardinals whose 61-year championship drought is the second-longest in professional sports, runner-up to only the hapless Chicago Cubs? Those Cardinals? No way.
Believe it, even if I can hardly begin to do so myself. Six weeks ago, Arizona hit rock bottom with a 47-7 loss to the New England Patriots, bringing its East Coast record to 0-5 on the season. Stumbling into the playoffs after clinching the miserable NFC West title a few weeks back, the Cardinals' play was less enjoyable to watch than a "Gossip Girl" marathon. So how did they manage to turn it around, defeating the Rookie of the Year, a team undefeated at home and a team favored on the road in consecutive weeks in the playoffs? Three words: Larry Freakin' Fitzgerald.
This man is absolutely ridiculous. He has pogo sticks for legs and glue-covered Velcro pads for hands. He's everything you want in a receiver but can't find anywhere else. In this age of celebratory, flamboyant and name-changing wideouts, Fitzgerald is one of a kind. Oh yeah — he will also be the most electric player on the field this Sunday in Tampa Bay.
In a nine-reception, 152-yard effort against the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFC Championship Game, Fitzgerald surpassed Jerry Rice for the single postseason record with 419 yards receiving. Oh, and he still has one more game left. Fitzgerald also became the first man in NFL history to record three straight 100-yard receiving games in the same postseason as he single-handedly leapt, snagged, sprinted and darted his team into Super Bowl XLIII: The Larry Fitzgerald Show, featuring the Arizona Cardinals.
Against the Eagles, Fitzgerald's three scores in the first half brought his season total to 12. After each touchdown, though, he chose to calmly flip the ball into the arms of the referees and trot off past herds of flabbergasted teammates with tongues down to the turf. He's an eternal human highlight reel, the aggregate power of Zeus and Hercules, and yet is silent as a cricket in daylight.
Despite his successes, Fitzgerald is one of the most humble receivers in the NFL, harkening back to the soft-spoken Marvin Harrison of a few years prior. Rather than cranking out shirtless sit-ups in his driveway or making cell phone calls next to the goal post, Fitzgerald is out helping AIDS victims, a tribute to his mother who passed away as a result of the syndrome.
He's a modern-day da Vinci, something all pro football players should strive to be. Fitzgerald travels around the world and cooks, all the while ignoring the spotlight that continues to shine on some of his more raucous brethren. He was once fined $10,000 by the NFL for leaving the clubhouse before a postgame news session simply because of how uncomfortable the public's eye makes him.
It's not that no one has heard about him, it's just that the extent to which he lets his play do the talking is admirable. Whether he wins or loses next week, Fitzgerald has forever catapulted himself into the debate over the NFL's best receiver, but winning on Sunday in stellar fashion would cement him that status.
Going up against renowned safety Troy Polamalu next Sunday will be no easy task for Fitzgerald and Arizona quarterback Kurt Warner, but that is exactly what they have been doing all season. Scoring touchdowns without a peep is Fitzgerald's game, and it's about time he wins a championship for playing football the right way.
As Bruce Springsteen fires up his amps and Tampa Bay readies for the Terrible Towels, the Steelers are clearly the obvious choice for the title. As Pittsburgh boasts the best defense in the league, Arizona is seemingly just another tackling dummy for the hard-hitting Steelers. Yet the Cardinals made it this far on their own will, outplaying the NFC's best, so I leave you with this question: What's going to stop Fitzgerald this time?
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Alex Prewitt is a freshman who has not yet declared a major. He can be reached at Alexander.Prewitt@tufts.edu.
