Our New Beginning

     When Phoenix Arizona experienced its "Wettest day ever" on Monday morning, I admit I was a little worried that the MNF game was going to be affected. Me and my hubby were set to attend the game and had been waiting eagerly for weeks. As I held back my anxiety the sun made an appreciated appearance and it stopped raining. What a relief it was when I saw the official tweet that the game was proceeding as scheduled.

     The excitement at University of Phoenix was completely electrifying! So many fans chanting and high fiving one another in passing! A beautiful sea of red and white filled the stadium seats for what was our new beginning! A season opener, a Monday night football game at home with Kurt Warner being inducted into the Cardinals ring of honor! Football was back in full force!  Ahhh, now this was living!

    Fans were rewarded when former long-time Cardinals (S) Adrian “A-Dub” Wilson was revealed as a special guest that would be cranking the “Big Red Siren” before and during the game! The Cardinals 18-17 victory against the San Diego Chargers was no small feat. There was fierce competition throughout the game from both sides of the line. In fact we were down 11 points entering the 4th quarter. Our defense certainly showed up to play despite top player injuries and suspensions.

     The game time decision to allow RB Andre Ellington to play proved to be beneficial. Ellington, while not fully recovered from his foot injury during practice, managed to carry the ball 13 times for 53 yards. QB Carson Palmer threw for 304 yards; he passed 2 TDs with 0 INT and at the age of 34 was playing intensely with his feet! I always love to see a QB get the 1st down himself. Palmer was confident and that was apparent from the stands. Rookie WR John Brown caught the game winning TD pass from Palmer only minutes before the end of the game.

     NFL superstar WR Larry Fitzgerald was open often but simply not thrown the ball which caused some speculation as to why he was not more of a consistent target for Palmer. Head Coach Bruce Arians said afterwards, "You have to ask the quarterback. (Larry) is going out for a pass every time. I don’t look at that. We don’t design plays for guys to get the ball. That’s interceptions waiting to happen." Fitz also commented later via Twitter posting "We're 1-0 & working tirelessly to be 2-0 this week that’s my only concern." Seems to me that Larry is content being here in Arizona and only desires the Cardinals to become a winning team.

     I'd like to end with extending my sincerest gratitude to Patrick Peterson (CB). He made my experience at this game one that I will never forget. He graciously and unexpectedly left me Post game family bracelets at Will-Call when I picked up my tickets. This privilege and honor allowed me and the hubby access to after game player and family interactions! We rubbed elbows with the Best team in the NFL and also got to meet P2 himself! All I could say was "Thank You" repeatedly and hug him twice! I must have had an ear to ear grin that could be seen from the across the stadium! P2 is truly a class-act and I’m sure glad he is a part of my team. 

NFLfemale.com Article Preview

     Greetings and Salutations everyone! My name is Stephanie Connery and I am a fan of the Arizona Cardinals! We have a very talented team with some remarkable players on and off the field. This is one of the many reasons why I absolutely LOVE my red birds! The charitable works that these guys do can't go unnoticed. It warms my soul when I see all the good they do for so many people here in the valley and across the world.

    

    My beloved Cardinals are slowly winning over the hearts of fans here in Phoenix, Arizona. With both current and former class act players like Larry Fitzgerald, Kurt Warner, Patrick Peterson and Sam Acho to name a few, how could they not? The hard work they produce every season is greatly appreciated. They never give up and year after year they show us that team is what it really takes in this league.

    It was my husband who influenced me into paying more attention to NFL football and how it's played. He taught me to give my allegiance to my team and once I did so, it could never be taken back. You stick with your team no matter what! No wife of his was going to be a fair-weather fan! This was intimidating in the beginning but once I started learning more by watching games, reading sports blogs and following players I started going a little Cardinals crazy! A couple of seasons later I created fan pages on social media sites and have been maintaining them in my spare time for a little over 3 years now.

   As we enter the 2014 season, there is some skepticism as to whether or not we will be able to live up to last year's record of 10-6 (being just short of a trip to the playoffs.) We are after all playing in one of the toughest divisions in the league alongside the current Super Bowl Champions, the Seattle Seahawks. We went 1-3 during our pre-season, only winning our first game at home, versus the Texans. But what a fantastic game it was! It turned out to be a blowout, 32-0.

      The Cardinals have undoubtedly lost some key players going into this 2014 season. Darryl Washington (ILB) is suspended the entire season for his 2nd violation of the league’s substance abuse policy. Darnell Dockett (DT) was injured during practice and suffered a season ending torn ACL. Tyrann Mathieu (S) was recently removed from the PUP list after his long road of recovery from a torn ACL and LCL last season; however he is not expected to take the field until after our BYE week in week 4. Just this week Andre Ellington (RB) suffered a foot injury during practice. His full injury has yet to be determined and announced.

    Our defense may end up in a vulnerable position with the loss of some of our playmakers but we have to believe in "Next Man Up" and allow others to step up and fill those voids. I'm looking forward to the possibility of developing a feared forward passing game. That would be a nice change of pace for the Cards! I suppose I will have to relax, be patient and allow the season to unfold. There is one thing I'm certain about though and that is football is back baby!