SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- Larry Fitzgerald doesn't daydream. He visualizes.

These days, his thoughts often turn to one topic in particular: winning a Super Bowl. But when Fitzgerald, who said he also talks to himself ("A lot. It's scary"), begins to picture the moment that has eluded him since 2004, it's not the feeling of the confetti sprinkling down on his sweat-soaked face or how he'll hold the Vince Lombardi Trophy that comes to mind. It's the plays he'll make to give the Arizona Cardinals their first Super Bowl title.

"Catch a slant. It's Cover 2. I'm able to get away from the corner. I make a move on the safety. I'm up the sideline. I see guys chasing me. I see my shoes that I'm wearing," Fitzgerald said, leaning back against the plush bench seats on the second floor of a steakhouse in Scottsdale, Arizona, just a couple tables away from a wading pool -- yes, a pool is in the middle of a steakhouse. "It's kind of weird, but I see it. I've always kind of been that way -- very imaginative."

That elusive title isn't far from Fitzgerald's mind at any given point -- not after finishing 13 seasons without a ring to show for it. He got close once, when the Cardinals played in Super Bowl XLIII. They had the lead until there were 35 seconds left. In 2015, he was one game from Super Bowl XLIX.

Still, no trophy.

Larry Fitzgerald was less than a minute from winning the Super Bowl nine years ago. Kim Klement/US Presswire

"I think about it a great deal," Fitzgerald said. "I do, especially in this state of my professional career. I know how difficult it is to even have a chance to get the opportunity to play. It's extremely difficult.

"It's something I constantly think about."

However, there's a difference when Fitzgerald thinks about winning a title now compared to the early days of his career.

Now, it's a realistic possibility. It wasn't then. And he knew it.

"Going into the season, I know we're capable of playing at that kind of level," Fitzgerald said. "That's reassuring. Many years ago, coming to camp, you're just coming to camp knowing realistically you don't have a chance in hell to win a championship.

"I don't have that feeling ever [now]. I feel like we have what it takes."

All Fitzgerald could do was chuckle when thinking about that difference.

"Gosh, man, it's such a great feeling knowing if you do your part, other guys are going to do their part, and you'll have your best opportunities on Sunday because you'll have the skill set, you have the players, you got the quality of men to deal with the adversity that comes along with the course of the year.

"It's a great feeling."

If storybook endings are a thing in the NFL, then Fitzgerald will win Super Bowl LII, which will be played in his hometown of Minneapolis, and retire.

Fitzgerald grew up in South Minneapolis and went to high school about 15 minutes from where the old Metrodome once stood and where U.S. Bank Stadium stands now. He was a ball boy for the Minnesota Vikings in the late 1990s and early 2000s for the high-octane teams that included Cris Carter, Randy Moss and Randall Cunningham.

At first, Fitzgerald said it doesn't matter where a Super Bowl is won, as long as it's won.

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"We could play in Antarctica, and if I was playing in it, I would be tickled pink," Fitzgerald said. "I would be ecstatic. It's not the same for me as it was for me years ago because the Metrodome is torn down now. It's difficult, but obviously it's still home and it would be awesome.

"At this point, 14 years in, I just want to have an opportunity to be able to do it."

Should the Cardinals reach Super Bowl LII, Fitzgerald expects about the same number of ticket requests playing in his hometown as he received for Super Bowl XLIII in Tampa -- about 35 to 40. Like he did that year, when he was only allowed to buy 15 but had to wrangle the additional ones from teammates who weren't using their allotment, Fitzgerald thinks he'll be able to satisfy every request.

But when Fitzgerald is asked how much more it would mean to win his only Super Bowl less than 10 miles from where he grew up, he paused.

"To win it, just period, just anywhere, would be great," he finally said. "I guess to win it at home would be nice."