The past

I was born in the valley in 1985. Phoenix is MY town. My father, also an Arizona native, has been a lifelong Arizona sports fan, for better and for worse (inserts cheesy marital tag line). He took me to ASU games since I was three–in the blazing heat, on god-awful metal benches that emitted nuclear grade heat when you sat on them for August football games.

My Dad never pledged allegiance to a pro football team before the Cardinals landed on the scene in ’88, although sometimes I wish he had. I grew up never knowing what it was like to live in a state without a professional football team of my own. Maybe, if the Cardinals never came, then I could relate to the rest of the transient traitors in this town. Maybe then, I would’ve experienced some distant, impersonal, and unauthentic “championship” feeling from a town I’d probably never been to. The most likely candidate for his fandom would have been the Cowboys…so really, I dodged a bullet, and can’t complain.

In tragic, and somewhat chronological sequence:

The Suns made the NBA finals when I was seven. It was the first and only time (I think?) I saw my Dad throw something at our walls, during game 6. Damn you, Danny Ainge. Stay out on your man! Who were you sagging back to help out on anyway? DON’T LEAVE PAXSON OPEN!

My Dad and I sat in Rose Bowl Stadium in ’96, watching Joe Germaine, an Arizona native, destroy the dream of hoisting a national championship trophy in Tempe.

The Steve Nash era, the Amare suspension, the Ron Artest bank shot etc. .

The incredible 2008 Cardinals Super Bowl run featuring Santonio Holmes out of bounds “touchdown”, the lifeless 2015 performance in Carolina where Carson Palmer forgot his receivers wore red.

The one anomaly was the 2001 Diamondbacks. Our sole claim to a world title, happened in a year that the opposing city we beat, could’ve really used a pick me up. For real though, did it have to be 2001? Of all years??? Really?

Hopefully that gives you context to my dysfunctional relationship with sports. The ’92-’93 Suns team, and the ’96 Devils connected me to sports. The joy, the pain, and the long suffering that accompanies it.

The present

No, I am not clinically depressed, yet. Yet. Y-E-T. *puts down Xanax bottle*. Myself, along with several fanbases across the country try to claim the thrown of most tortured sports cities. Let me be clear– we are not Cleveland. Say it with me: “We are NOT Cleveland”. We are not Buffalo. But I’m also not sure we’re far behind them either. While I certainly can acknowledge Phoenix has had degrees of “success” across the 4 major sports, this past decade (2010-present)) in particular has been grueling. Abysmal. Defeating.

The Diamondbacks have made the post-season twice. The Cardinals twice. The Coyotes twice. The Suns once. In 10 years, and a combined 40 opportunities, that’s seven appearances. 7. S-E-V-E-N. And do the Coyotes really count? Serious question.

This town has been through an inordinately higher amount of “downs” than “ups”. But it begs the question–What team “owns” this town right now? What team garners the most support? Seriously? The Diamondbacks? Possibly. They have certainly given us the most reason for hope over the last two seasons– that is indisputable–but the sizzle last year’s team possessed, is gone. The Cardinals once did. But they have a new regime under Steve Wilks, and the competitive teams under Palmer are in the rear view mirror. ASU is undergoing a similar transition under Herm. Its not the Suns. It’s a city in flux, with no “anchor”, no version of a “steady eddie” team that we can count on.

The future

All that being said, it is arguably the most exciting time ever, to be an Arizona sports fan. The Phoenix Suns landed the No. 1 pick, in a draft that landed us the type of athletic freak that we’ve been seeking for 51 years. The Suns have, what appears to be, a SOLID foundation. Josh Rosen is the quarterback of the future, and is making his first start today. The Arizona Cardinals have never had a franchise quarterback in its 20 year history here with the pedigree Rosen has, Matt Leinart included. ASU already is showing signs of life under Herm. A lot of people are now on the train.

There has never been more reason for optimism, despite the painful, calloused memories of my upbringing in Arizona. The cloud that has loomed large over our beloved sports city, is dissipating. Small streaks of light are bursting through. Here’s to hoping that the Arizona Sports Apocalypse of the past 10 years can come to abrupt, and swift end.