Superbowl baby!

Wow, amazing! I don't know where to start. Jace and I were invited to the game by Jace's mentor, John Ray. It was the Cardinals vs. Eagles and as the signs say "There is only room for one bird in this nest"!

Everyone in Arizona wanted to go to the NFC Championship game. After all, if the Cardinals won, they were headed to the superbowl. The last time Jace and I were part of something like this was when we were at game the World Series game seven for the Diamondbacks. They won and it was an awesome feeling to be in that ballpark for the celebration. As awesome as that was, this was even better.

The crowd was crazy and it started long before we reached we the stadium. Jace spent Saturday looking for the perfect "game" attire for us. Everyone else was also totally decked out. We had to park a long way away (not good for the ankle) so we walked through the crowds of people. There were some Eagle fans too, but they were sparse. The Cardinals fans were pumped and ready for the game. There were chants, high fives, fist bumps, banter, tail gaters, and signs. Wow, were there ever signs. There was face painting, weird hats, temporary tattoos, and more chants. It was an atmosphere that promoted excitement and anticipation. It took us a long time to get to our seats and settled.Once we sat down the real fun started.

I can't remember the names of this all guys group but they did their thing on garbage cans. If at all possible, they pumped up the crowd more.

This was the crowd before the game started.


A total sea of red and white. The Cheerleaders came out and shook their "cheerleaders" (J-licious word for Pom Poms).
Then Arizona's own American Idol winner, Jordin Sparks, sang The National Anthem.

This flag was the size of the football field held by servicemen cheerleaders, volunteers and security.
Then our opponents came onto the field and there was hardly any sounds of cheering, understandably.The fans could no longer hold on to their excitement when it was time to greet the stars of the show! White towels were being swung around everywhere!
Look at these fans! Weirdos!

So, the big introduction began... the flags, the fire and the fans. It was absolutely electrifying!

The players came out and the game was starting. Every fan in the place was standing....they never sat down. Not ever. I, however, had an ankle that was throbbing from the walk and was sitting it my seat. It was fine though because I had a good view of the Jumbotron. If it wasn't for that, I would have been looking at rear ends the whole time. I did stand when we scored or made a great play. I just was in awe of the array of emotions in the stands. The faces were telling a whole story. The team that had not been to a Superbowl...ever! Some of these fans must have been die hard fans that were living vicariously through these players.

I can't find the words to explain the noise. It was so loud that you couldn't talk to the person next to you. Your ears hurt it was so loud and they rang for awhile when we left. The roof was closed on the new stadium so the sound just bounced around in there. This was the same stadium that last years Superbowl was played in, so it is state of the art. It was absolutely beyond words. The game itself was great. We scored in the first few minutes and dominated the first half. We did have a few hiccups in the second half. We fell behind at one point after being ahead the entire time. The Eagles did score and it made the game interesting. Cardinals answered back strong though and we pulled out the game with a resounding win.

The fans emotions hit a new high. There were grown men crying and I am not talking about just the players. The fans, men and women, were crying. The BIG GAME was over and the Cardinals are going to the Superbowl. The cheers were deafening.

The celebration had started on the field!

The stage was being rolled out and the confetti was flying. The players, owners and coaches took the stage. It was a complete and udder testosterone party. The Cardinals were not supposed to win. They have always been the underdog and everyone loves an underdog!

So, when it was all said and done and the fat lady sung... The Cardinals are going to Tampa for their biggest game ever. I can't imagine the Arizona Superbowl parties that are being planned now. The fans that cheered, cried, held their signs, yelled for the bad calls, jumped up and down when we scored, high fived complete strangers that sat around them, and STOOD THE ENTIRE TIME are going to start the real party now.

I still can't get over the devotion of fans that have not ever met these players or coaches, yet feel so strongly about them. They invite this team and their stafff into their living rooms every Sunday, during football season, and they feel that they know them. They relate to them through their interviews, their real life tribulations, and the love of the same sport.

The men that played ball but never got to the NFL, the women that take their sons to football practices and games all week, the boys that can't wait to show a scout that they have what it takes to play in the NFL, these are the fans. They only need the one thing in common that they love....Football!

This is the stadium after all the confetti fell.
The fans were still all there. No one wanted to miss a minute of the elation from the win.

As, we left the stadium and started our trek back to the car, it was another party. Fans singing, clapping, jumping, and high fiving EVERYONE THAT WALKED BY. I needed a serious dowsing of antibacterial gel. All I could think of was how many germs I must have on my hands. I finally pulled out my gel got my hands clean only to look up and find more people with their hands up. You don't want to leave them hanging and as much as you don't want to you, you slap 'em up high. After all of us had cleaned our hands once. We just decided to wait til we got to the car to try again. Jace and I found a peddle cab so that I didn't have to walk again so that was great. When John and Gloria got to the car, we tried to leave. It took forever to get out of the parking lot but we were enjoying all the celabratory tire burning, honking and yelling out of the car windows.
All in all, it was a fantastic experience. I never saw one person out of hand. There were so many people but everyone was respectful and friendly. It was something that we won't ever forget and are so happy we were able to be a part.

Thanks, John and Gloria, it was great company and a historical event to experience. Now, I am off to start the planning for OUR Superbowl party!

Cortney K.