Memory of a lifetime

I'm an Arizona Cardinals fan. Laugh all you want -- I'm not ashamed to admit it, embarrassing as it may be. For all you Eagles fans who have been talking about curses and lamenting the fact that you haven't been in the Big Game in 24 years, consider this: the Cardinals last won the NFL Championship in 1947. The score? Chicago Cardinals 28, Philadelphia Eagles 21.

The point of this column is not to claim that the Cardinals are better than the Eagles -- that would be completely asinine. We still play in a college football stadium for crying out loud! Rather, my goal is to urge all Eagles fans to hit up the ATM, drain their bank accounts and make their way to Jacksonville at all costs.

Now, you're probably wondering why you should listen to an Arizona Cardinals fan. Well, let me tell you about our "Super Bowl" in the desert. It happened in Week 17 of the 1998 season, with the Cardinals entering their final game with an 8-7 record. A win over the San Diego Chargers would mean a playoff birth. A loss would mean, well, pretty much the same as it always meant -- yet another .500 or below season for our beloved Cards.

I went to the game with two of my buddies -- we couldn't possibly miss the chance to witness history. Just when the Cardinals appeared to have the victory under their belts and a trip to the playoffs secured, they gave up the game-tying touchdown with 16 seconds to go. When it seemed that hope was lost, Eric Metcalf responded with a monstrous kickoff return, setting up Chris Jacke for the ugliest 52-yard game-winning field goal I have ever seen in my life. It was sheer pandemonium -- Sun Devil Stadium erupted, and we tried with all our might to tear down the goalposts. The Cardinals were 9-7 -- their first winning season since moving to Arizona -- and had a date with the Dallas Cowboys in the playoffs.

The Cardinals actually went on to beat the Cowboys, only to get spanked by the Minnesota Vikings a week later. None of that is really important, as the Cardinals have not had a winning season since. As it turns out, I really did witness history -- who knows if the Cards will ever make it back to the playoffs?

As glorious as it was to see the Cardinals beat the Chargers on that warm December day, my best Arizona sports memory would come nearly three years later. I was a freshman at Penn, and the Arizona Diamondbacks were two wins away from a World Series victory over the New York Yankees. Of course, the D-Backs should have wrapped up the Series in the Bronx, but thanks to Byung-Hyun Kim, they were heading back to the Valley of the Sun for Game 6. What did I do?

I emptied my bank account. I bought a plane ticket to Phoenix. I scored four tickets to Game 6 via the Internet. I put two of the seats on eBay and wound up trading them for a pair of Game 7 tickets. The wheels were in motion -- all I needed now was a date. Who did I take? My mom.

The atmosphere in Bank One Ballpark was unlike anything I had ever experienced. Diamondbacks fans were wearing shirts that said "Yank This!" with arrows pointing towards their nether regions. Chants of "Yankees Suck!" rang throughout the stadium. For a moment I thought I was in Boston.

Game 6 wasn't even close -- the D-Backs went up 15-0 in the fourth inning and coasted to a 15-2 victory. Game 7 was a different story, however. Despite terrific pitching performances by Curt Schilling and Randy Johnson, the Diamondbacks trailed 2-1 heading into the bottom of the ninth, with the ever-dominating Mariano Rivera on the mound and the bottom of the order coming up.

I'm not going to lie. I didn't believe. I figured we were hosed. I thought I had spent all my money to come home and watch my team lose the World Series by a run. But then a magical thing happened. The loudspeakers blared "Right Now" by Van Halen. Mariano faltered. Derek Jeter played too far in. And Luis Gonzalez delivered Arizona's first major championship ever. I'm not one for extreme statements, but that was hands-down one of the greatest moments of my life.

So Birds fans, fly to Jacksonville. Climb, crawl or beg your way into Alltel Stadium. I can't tell you how many Eagles chants I've participated in over the past two weeks, and even I'm starting to get excited. If they lose, life will go on. But if they win, you will have bought yourself the memory of a lifetime. Heck, if you get me a ticket, I'll drive you there myself.

Conor O'Callaghan is a senior in the Management and Technology program from Scottsdale, Ariz. The OC appears on Fridays.

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