For this Cardinals fan, it’s time to party like its 1999

Another Arizona Cardinals season is upon us. If you’ve been reading up on the upcoming season for Arizona, things aren’t looking good.

Many prognosticators are picking the Cardinals to finish dead last and have one of the worst teams in the league.

Unfortunately, this isn’t unfamiliar territory for this organization. And for this Cardinals fan, it’s an all too familiar feeling.

Guess it’s time to party like it’s 1999.

My family and I have had season tickets since the team moved to Arizona in the late 80s. As a kid, Sundays at Sun Devil Stadium were a tradition. A time to cheer on our favorite football team with my mom, dad, brother, uncle and grandparents.

If you aren’t aware of the Cardinals’ history, they weren’t exactly a winning franchise. Most seasons, my family and I were talking draft picks by November. If the Cardinals ever won, it felt like a Super Bowl victory.

But that didn’t sway us. We spent plenty of scorching August afternoons burning our thighs on the metal bleachers of the upper decks. We even braved the cold, rainy weather during a game against the New York Giants in the late 90s. It’s probably the coldest I’ve ever been and I will never forget the feeling.

No matter what, cheering for the Cardinals just feels right for the Trujillo’s. The Bird Gang is very much ingrained in our history.

Speaking of history, Arizona has experienced some more success over the past few years. Several playoff appearances and even a magical Super Bowl run (minus the last 2:17) revitalized the Valley.

But now it looks like the team is rebuilding and wins could once again be hard to come by.

Before Arizona moved to State Farm Stadium, they experienced plenty of losses, even a 6-10 season in the final year before the year 2000.

So we now find ourselves in a familiar situation, low expectations and no chance from the “experts.”

And that is fine for this Cardinals fan. I’ll just party like it’s 1999.

It was the best week of my professional life. Here’s why.

What a week. The world set its sights on Arizona as Super Bowl LVII and the WM Phoenix Open were held in the Valley this month.

As a digital producer, I was right in the middle of the action and helped with the local coverage of the events. Ever since I started pursuing a career in journalism at ASU, I dreamed about covering a big sports story like this. And it finally happened.

For seven days, I was in the city that was the center of the sports and pop culture universe. It was easily the highlight of my journalism career.

Every day was a different event. From NFL Opening Night on Monday to the WM Phoenix Open Pro-Am on Wednesday, it was non-stop action.

The entire week from start to finish seemed like a non-stop stream of excitement. Rolling around downtown Phoenix and seeing all the sights and sounds was something I’d never experienced before. I haven’t seen an event of this scale before since I became a journalist. And it was all happening in my hometown.

We prepared for these events months ago and it still felt larger than life. Media from all over the world was in Phoenix and the downtown area felt more like New York or Las Vegas. There was just so much to experience.

Personally, one of the bigger highlights for me happened during opening night. As I was rolling around the Footprint Center and interacting with the players, I actually met a couple of other journalists in wheelchairs. I can’t begin to describe how cool it was to see other journalists like me. I always knew I wasn’t the only disabled journalist around, but seeing them in person was something I never thought I’d see.

Everywhere I went, most of the time I was the only disabled person in the room. But now I actually felt like one of the crew and finally belonged.

After seeing the other disabled journalists, they brought up the point of accessibility to the athletes.

For those in wheelchairs, reaching the podiums of the more prominent athletes like Patrick Mahomes or Jalen Hurts was impossible. The crowds and podium height made access to ask questions an issue. If I had Roger Goodell’s ear I would ask him to try and make these events more friendly and accessible to disabled journalists.

Aside from a couple of accessibility issues here and there, the entire week ran without a hitch. All of the events were exciting to attend and amazing to cover. The entire week is a time I will certainly not forget any time soon and I will always be thankful for the opportunity.

What do I want for my birthday? A donation to AZDS.

Yup, I’m turning the big 3-5. And I’m finally getting to the realization that I’m not as spry as I once was. 

But I digress. With my birthday coming up, I’m taking to Facebook with a unique request. 

For my birthday this year, I’m asking my friends, family and acquaintances to help me support an incredible organization, Arizona Disabled Sports. 

I’ve been an athlete with their power soccer program for more than 12 years and recently became an official board member for AZDS. A big part of my responsibilities as a board member is helping to raise funds for the organization. And this is where you come in. 

Using Facebook’s fundraising campaigns, I created a fundraiser to help give to AZDS in honor of me turning 35. So if you feel so inclined, you can join my fundraiser and give a donation to this cause that’s very near to my heart. 

This organization does a lot for athletes with disabilities and my life wouldn’t be as fulfilling if I hadn’t found AZDS. Not only do they give athletes the chance to compete in a wide variety of sports, the help each person thrive and develop skills off the court or field too. 

If you would like to give, head over to Facebook to donate online. 

Anything you can give, no matter how big or small, is greatly appreciated. 

The View from Section G

The view from Section G at Chase Field is absolutely breathtaking. You are mere feet from home plate and are up close and personal with all of the athletes, coaches and umpires. Along with the great view, you can actually hear conversations between the players, even the colorful, foul-mouthed screaming from the home plate ump and Giants Manager Bruce Bochy could be heard with amazing clarity. Not only that, you can even feel the slight mist of chew spit as Pablo Sandoval, a.k.a. Kung Fu Panda, hocks his chewing tobacco in the batter’s box. In case you didn’t know already, say away from tobacco. It’s a tumor-causing, teeth-staining, smelly, puking habit.

Here is a pic and video from my seats at the Arizona Diamondbacks game against the San Francisco Giants on 5/20/2010. The view from Section G at Chase Field is absolutely breathtaking. You are mere feet from home plate and are up close and personal with all of the athletes, coaches and umpires. Along with the great view, you can actually hear conversations between the players, even the colorful, foul-mouthed screaming from the home plate ump and Giants Manager Bruce Bochy could be heard with amazing clarity. Not only that, you can even feel the slight mist of chew spit as Pablo Sandoval, a.k.a. Kung Fu Panda, hocks his chewing tobacco in the batter’s box. In case you didn’t know already, say away from tobacco. It’s a tumor-causing, teeth-staining, smelly, puking habit.

Gross and vulgar habits aside, these are great seats for people with disabilities who are looking for wheelchair accessible seats. But that is expected from $150 tickets. One thing I must say is that you definitely need to have your head on a swivel. I was almost pegged by two foul balls, one was a pop fly and had plenty of time to move, but the other was a screaming line drive. The railing in front of me did its job marvelously as I avoided any serious injury. But foul balls are simply a part of the game.

If you are a little leery of the price or danger of foul balls, I recommend sitting in section 105-W in right field or 145-W in centerfield. They are both good alternatives and are awesome and cheap sections with accessible seating.

By the way, the Dbacks won the game 8-7.