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A Resurrection In The Desert

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By IRA KAUFMAN | The Tampa Tribune

Published: January 25, 2009

GLENDALE, Ariz. - Troy Landrum is seeing red and loving it.

For two depressing decades, the Valley of the Sun has served as a barren NFL outpost, and Landrum, a 44-year-old realtor, has sweated the details.

Now his Arizona Cardinals are heading to Tampa for the Feb. 1 Super Bowl and the 16-year season-ticket holder is already laying out his game-day wardrobe for Raymond James Stadium.

"I'd say there's a shocked buzz in this town right now," said Landrum, who received a letter last weekend guaranteeing him the right to purchase two $800 tickets to the Cardinals-Steelers matchup. "Every car seems to have a Cardinal flag, people in malls and restaurants are all wearing red and there's tremendous excitement all across the Phoenix area."

The Cardinals moved from St. Louis to Arizona in 1988, but they didn't truly arrive until 2006, when the University of Phoenix Stadium opened with a retractable roof and a knack for letting the sunshine in.

Instead of drawing 25,000 at Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, the Cardinals have enjoyed 32 consecutive sellouts in Glendale, a bustling Phoenix suburb that has blossomed in the desert.

"We've been painting this town red since Sunday's game," said Jennifer Stein, a public information officer in Glendale. "There's a huge demand for tickets to the Super Bowl and they can't keep Cardinal merchandise on the shelves. There's no doubt the stadium put Glendale on the map. This used to be a sleepy little town with cows and cotton balls. Now, we've got the Super Bowl."

Tickets to last week's NFC title game against Philadelphia sold out in six minutes and there were few Eagles fans visible in the stands as a crowd of 70,650 cheered Arizona on to a 32-25 victory.

Times, and attitudes, have changed.

A 30-24 playoff win against Atlanta three weeks ago marked the franchise's first postseason victory in 61 years. Until 2008, the Cardinals hadn't even won a division title since 1975, the year before the Bucs began their inaugural season.

That's a sharp contrast to the storied AFC champion Steelers, making their seventh Super Bowl appearance.

"Steelers football is what binds us as a city," said Pittsburgh fan Melanie Brdar, now living in Tucson, Ariz. "In most cities, divorces are prolonged over disputes about custody and mortgages. In Pittsburgh, divorces are prolonged over who is going to get the season tickets."

The Cardinals may lack tradition, but fans are suddenly overflowing with passion.

The club received 11,000 tickets for the Super Bowl and that allotment was divided among players and staff, sponsors and suite holders and fans with season tickets.

Landrum was one of the lucky ones among Arizona's 20,000 season-ticket holders.

"I opened that letter up and I just started screaming," he said. "My tickets are up in the nosebleed section, but make no mistake - I'm coming to Tampa next weekend."

Landrum moved to Arizona 30 years ago from New Hampshire and owned season tickets at Sun Devil Stadium, Arizona State's outdoor home since 1958.

"Before we came to Glendale, it was hot," said Arizona fifth-year linebacker Karlos Dansby. "It was 107 in the sun and it was 107 at night. It was hard to get fans in the stands. For me, coming from Auburn, to see 10,000-20,000 fans, it hurt."

In a striking parallel with the 1983-96 Buccaneers, Arizona drew big crowds only when marquee opponents visited.

And yes, supporters of the home team were outnumbered most of the time.

When the Cardinals went 5-11 in 2002, four home games attracted less than 30,000 fans. But when the Cowboys rolled in, almost 57,000 showed up.

Is it any wonder Arizona's only four Monday night appearances between 1986 and 1998 came against America's Team?

"It has been a roller-coaster ride for eight years and to get to this point - NFC champs - means a lot," said veteran safety Adrian Wilson. "The Arizona Cardinals just changed their stripes."

With a new stadium providing a cool backdrop, attending Cardinals games suddenly became fashionable.

"This has been a very good building for us," said Bill Bidwill, the team's stoic owner. "There are a lot of cities that would like to have this building. It's been even more successful than we anticipated."

Arizona players are bracing for a pro-Steelers crowd next Sunday, yet they are hopeful Cardinals fans turn out in force for a 2,160-mile journey.

Those scorching days in Tempe now serve as mere prologue for this NFL redemption story.

"I saw an opportunity to come out here and be part of a resurrection," said defensive end Bertrand Berry, who signed with Arizona as a free agent from Denver in 2004. "When you're part of resurrections, they remember you. Everyone talked about this being a dysfunctional organization. People told me the Cardinals can't win, they can't get out of their own way. Looks like we did a pretty good job of getting out of our way."

Reporter Ira Kaufman can be reached at (813) 259-7833.

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