I am in a minority. I have felt the hate of others and have had to work extra hard in order to keep up with the masses.
I am an Arizona Cardinals fan.
When I moved to Mesa from New Jersey almost a decade ago, the memories of a Super Bowl win by the New York Giants were still fresh in my mind, and I was not made aware of the "style" of football played here in Arizona.
In junior high and high school, I suffered through the days of Chris Chandler, Steve Beuerlein and Boomer Esiason, a triumvirate of ineptitude. I first thought things were going to change in 1997, when the Cardinals picked ASU's very own Jake Plummer in the second round.
I was wrong.
The team made a brief run in the playoffs in 1998, going 9-7 and beating the vile Dallas Cowboys in the first round. After retooling by poor upper management, the Cardinals are as close to the playoffs now as Janet Jackson is to making another halftime show appearance.
My faith in the Cardinals was nearing rock bottom, but last year's NFL draft perked me up. Terrell Suggs, one of the best pass rushers in NCAA history and another Sun Devil, was available at the Cardinals' spot.
But just like an Arizona wide receiver, management dropped the ball.
Instead of taking Suggs, who ended up winning the NFL's Defensive Rookie of the Year Award and was selected by the Baltimore Ravens at the No. 10 pick, the Cardinals traded their selection and took wide receiver Bryant Johnson and defensive end Calvin Pace later in the first round.
When I think dynamic duos, I think Batman and Robin, Stockton and Malone and peanut butter and jelly. I don't think Johnson and Pace.
The Cardinals' incompetence at drafting in the first round is nothing new. Jump back into the time machine to 1998 when drafting Andre Wadsworth with the third overall pick sounded like a good idea. The next pick off the board that year was Charles Woodson, a four-time Pro Bowl Selection.
I was one of the blind devotees that actually bought a Thomas Jones jersey because I thought he would be a serviceable and dependable running back. The jersey of the 2000 first-round pick sits in the bottom of a closet somewhere, never to be worn again.
I guess ignorance is bliss.
However, the Cardinals now have a chance to right the wrongs of the past. Arizona is in a perfect spot with the third selection in the draft again this year. I see three players that the Cardinals can't miss with -- quarterback Eli Manning and wide receivers Larry Fitzgerald and Mike Williams.
Manning comes from a football pedigree, and while I am a fan of current starter Josh McCown, Manning has the ability to be a franchise player, just like his brother and father before him. If the Cardinals do pick the younger Manning, why don't they just ink up his future children to long-term deals?
For Fitzgerald and Williams, the possibility of having one of those two play alongside Anquan Boldin sends shivers down my spine. Fitzgerald has already made a name for himself as one of the best collegiate wide receivers in recent history. And he's only a sophomore.
Like former Minnesota Viking Cris Carter, all this guy does is catch touchdowns.
On the other hand, Mike Williams is simply a physical specimen. Standing at 6-foot-5 and 230 pounds, Williams has the size and ability to start in the NFL right now. Think about another former USC receiver, Keyshawn Johnson, just without the complaining and demands for "the damn ball."
I will not hold my breath though, because I know the Cardinals could find a way to muck this pick, just like they've done so many times before. Knowing my luck, I'll sit bright-eyed in front of the television on draft day with notebook in hand and hear that the Cardinals have traded their pick or found another way to screw it up. Maybe they will even sign another past-his-prime free agent like Emmitt Smith.
Hey, does anybody know what Boomer has been up to?
Reach the reporter at Jeffrey.hoodzow@asu.edu.
