Where Misery Loves Company

I was raised in Detroit, and I now see it was inevitable that I wind up in Phoenix. What do these two American cities have in common to draw me inexorably from one to the other? The snow? The sunshine? The glacial moraine? No, no. The football!!

Having grown up in Detroit rooting for the Lie Downs, er, Lions, where could I move that the storied tradition of NFL heartbreak could be continued? It took Bill Bidwell a move from St. Louis a couple of decades ago; but this NFL site relocation assured that Phoenix sports fans would have many, many years of heart break and agony to look forward to.

Fans of these two teams remind me of golfers. Because both activities are an exercise in frustration, people's reactions and personalities fall into two categories: bitter, hot headed idiots - and affable, sympathetic jokers. Come to think of it, divorcees also probably fall into these two personality categorizations as well. But I digress.

After the Cardinals overtime loss to San Francisco this week on Neil Rackers missed chip shot, it is reported that a Phoenix fan attacked his Christmas tree, ripping and wrenching limbs from the trunk. On the other end of this scale of reaction would be the mothers out there who uttered under their breath, "oh that poor boy. And his poor mother." Better pray for his whole family.

So far, the major difference between being a Lions fan and a Cardinals fan has been the willingness, or not, of the fan base to go to the stadium. Detroit fans have such a long history of losing that they enthusiastically fill the stadium every week, keeping up a positive front that to all outward appearances looks like they believe a win is imminent. This is done for the kids, so the children will not lose faith. Later, when the kids grow up, they will realize what's really going on, and take their kids to the stadium with a smile on their face to keep up this long-standing tradition. Sort of like Santa Claus.

The Cardinals fans, however, still want to be shown their football team will win. So the stadium has often been empty; as if this might be a motivation to produce a winning franchise. A notion long ago abandoned in the motor city. As any true Lion fan can attest, it's not about winning. It's about how you draft great college quarterbacks, and how many years it will take to squash all the confidence and potential out of them. That's true suspense and drama. I mean, if they won, what next?

For the valley of the sun, however, hope sprung eternal this year with a new stadium and a new coach. I bought it hook line and sinker, too. They really seemed to be acting different. They had confidence! They had swagger! We were going places! And the town went nuts when they got to a 500 winning percentage! In the NFC West division that puts you in second place one game behind the leader. But after a home loss to the 2 win - 8 loss 49ers, this looks all too familiar.

It is about this time each year that we American transplant desert dwellers come to the conclusion that there is just one thing left to say about the football season:

Go Suns!!