I attended my first Arizona Cardinals game in 1988 -- the same year the team arrived in the Valley via St. Louis.
Of course, back then they were the Phoenix Cardinals (even though they never played in Phoenix) and competed in a typically half-filled Sun Devil Stadium.
That year, the Cards set the tone for nearly two decades of futility.
They opened the season 7-4, tied with the New York Giants for first place in the NFC East. They proceeded to lose their final five games, including the season finale against the Packers, which I attended. My sad little 8-year-old heart got my first taste of Cardinals ineptitude that Sunday when the 3-12 Packers upended the Cards 26-17.
In their first 20 seasons in the Valley, the Cardinals advanced to the playoffs just once. They didn't sniff the Super Bowl until 2008, when Larry Fitzgerald went out of his mind and nearly carried the Cards all the way to their first-ever world championship.
Fitzgerald caught seven TD passes during that four-game playoff run, which remains one of the best individual postseason performances in NFL history.
But that's not the reason I love the 32-year-old future Hall of Famer. I love the guy because he gets it.
In his "Ode to Arizona" letter published by The Players' Tribune on Tuesday, Fitzgerald told us how indebted he is to this community, and to the Cardinals' loyal, growing fan base.
Fitz has played his entire pro career in Arizona -- a career that dates back to 2004, when the Cards were still playing in front of those sparse crowds in Tempe. He gets what it means to be a Valley sports fan. He gets what it means for us watch teams in other cities celebrate world championships, hoping and wishing that, one day, we'll get to experience that pride.
"I’m always going to feel indebted to this city for everything it’s given me. And now, after all these years, I’m excited about what we’ve been working towards and about the goals still yet to be accomplished," Fitzgerald wrote. "I’m excited about how close we are to where we want to be."
Us, too, Larry.
We lifelong Valley sports fans have experienced much more heartache than elation. There are 13 cities/regions in the United States that have at least one NFL, MLB, NBA and NHL team. Make no mistake about it: Of those 13 areas, Phoenix is the most depressed, and it's not even close.
Despite their struggles this season, the Suns are perhaps the best pro franchise in North America to have never won a championship. The Coyotes are typically home during the Stanley Cup playoffs and have advanced beyond the postseason's first round just once in their 20 years in the Valley. The Diamondbacks gave us our one and only "Big 4" world title but have been a middle-of-the-road baseball club for the better part of the last 15 years.
While cities like Boston, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Chicago have grown accustomed to hanging world championship banners from their stadiums and arenas, we here in Arizona have to settle for the occasional division championship banner (though we're humored with a conference championship banner every decade or so).
And speaking of fans from around the country: We see them infiltrate our arenas and stadiums 365 days a year. When teams from Chicago, New York and other areas come to play here, it often sounds like a home game for the road team.
Tune into the next Coyotes home game and watch just how many fans' arms are raised in celebration when the visitors score a goal.
I'm tired of it. You're tired of it. And Larry Fitzgerald is tired of it.
"As this place grows (and grows, and grows), I think it’s important for there to be something that unites everybody, from the recent transplants to the native Arizonans who have lived here their entire lives," Fitzgerald wrote.
"I want the Cardinals to be that thing."
I watched Fitz's overtime heroics vs. Green Bay from the press box, so officially, I was an impartial observer. (I may have muttered a "C'mon, Fitz" or two under my breath during his 75-yard run, but I cannot confirm this.)
In my 30-plus years as an AZ sports fan, I've only experienced a handful of truly cathartic moments. Fitzgerald's catch and run in OT was one of them.
In his letter, Fitzgerald made it clear that he wants a world title for the state of Arizona as much as he wants it for himself. (Of course, we already knew this about Larry, and that's one of the reasons why we love him.)
Fitzgerald understands how long the Arizona fan base has suffered -- and not just with the Cardinals. He's just as disgusted as we are at our lack of championship banners, including at University of Phoenix Stadium.
"I think there’s only one, large, final box left for us to check off: Win a Super Bowl. Nothing less," Fitzgerald wrote.
"We have the ownership to do it. We have the coaching staff to do it. We have the players to do it. And I know we have the state to do it.
"So let’s do it."
If this postseason were a sports movie, the Cardinals would win Super Bowl 50, and Bruce Arians would be carried off Levi's Stadium by Super Bowl MVP-winner Larry Fitzgerald and his teammates.
Life doesn't imitate art as often as it should -- but with Fitzgerald's ability, his passion and his raw desire to win, this year's Cardinals could be an exception.
From my inner 8-year-old to you, Larry: Let's do it.
