This Sunday the Los Angeles Rams (11-3) are headed to State Farm Stadium to take on the Arizona Cardinals (3-11). The Rams are coming off back to back losses, but if they win their final two games against the Cardinals and 49ers, they’ll clinch a first round bye. You can expect Rams Head Coach, Sean McVay, to have his team just as ready as they were back in week two when the Rams shutout the Cardinals 34-0 at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.
While no one is expecting anything special from Arizona, something special could be happening in Arizona. There are two games left in the regular season, but this will be the last home game in 2018 for the Cardinals. One can’t help but wonder if it’s also the last home game of Larry Fitzgerald’s career. I could go on and on – and on – listing all of Larry’s accolades, but if we’re being honest that’s not what we’ll miss most. When we think of Fitzgerald we certainly think about what a great football player he is. When we think about him 20 years from now, we’ll certainly think about what a great football player he was – but whether we think of him now or we think of him then, I highly doubt the first thing fans in Arizona will think of are his 16,190+ receiving yards or his 1,293+ receptions. We’ll think about his loyalty, how classy he is, and how even during bad times, his smile was still infectious.
Fitz has caught passes from 20 different quarterbacks in his career. The impressive part is he could tell you something personal about each one of them. In a day and age where superstar athletes demand a trade when times get tough – Larry has done the opposite. He chooses to stick by us. As fans we may not know him personally, but there’s something so personal about it. He may be from Minnesota, but he’s all Arizona.
If it were up to me, Larry’s name would be placed in the ring of honor prior to Sunday’s game to show just what he’s meant to the 48th state. If it were up to me, Larry would be given a gold jacket 11 seconds after signing retirement papers and we’d have a public ceremony much too big for the likes of McKenzie Arena in Chattanooga, Tennessee. If it were up to me, this Sunday wouldn’t be the last time we got to watch Larry Fitzgerald play in Arizona… but it’s not up to me. If number 11 has taught us anything, it’s that we should be enjoying every minute of everything we do as human beings. We should treat the people who can do nothing for us with the same respect and love as we treat someone who can do everything for us. He’s embodied what it means to be a good person.
Frankly, it doesn’t matter if the next 60 minutes of football are his last, you should enjoy it like it is. We’re all on borrowed time.
