Wow.  Didn’t exactly see that one coming did you?  Yeah, me either.  Or maybe you did, in which case you should know; I spent my Sunday in search of two things.

Crow and a straitjacket.

And if you don’t believe me, just ask any of my Sports 620 KTAR co-workers.  I sent out an email to the entire building looking for either of those items.

The crow is to eat, as I promised I would if the Cardinals beat the Carolina Panthers, which they most assuredly did on Saturday night.  If I can find Crow that can be properly cooked in a sanitary fashion…..I’m eating it.  Just like I said I would.  There is a note on this below, please read it.  But it may have to be pigeon and not crow.  I’ll know more on this on Monday.

The straitjacket is for the guy who called the show and said he thought the Cards would win and the Eagles would win and I responded by calling him “certifiable.”  I’ll wear the straitjacket for a segment in honor of him.  I can almost guarantee I’ll have this in my possession by Monday night’s 620 Sportsline.

Look, my job is to be passionate and opinionated.    I put the pom-poms down and tell you what I think.  I have a point of view, I believe in it and I don’t shy away from contact.  But sometimes I’m wrong…..really, really wrong.  It’s not like I’m the only one.  Every single person on Fox’s pregame show picked the Panthers.  Every single one on ESPN’s picked Carolina except Keyshawn Johnson.  Did you see the look on Mike Ditka’s face Sunday morning on NFL Countdown?  Do you think he saw this one coming?

And it’s not like I’ve been some kind of a Cardinal-basher all year long.  I picked them to win the NFC West, win against Atlanta in the Wildcard round and held strong to the belief that they were still going to win a playoff game the night after the New England debacle.  I took a lot of grief that night.

Besides, I’m guessing many people are shocked as hell that the Cardinals are preparing to host a NFC Championship game against the Eagles.

The point being, no matter how wrong any of us were in thinking this would or could happen, or how right you were in knowing it would, it’s irrelevant.  It has happened.  And even I’m smart enough to realize that this is the biggest thing to happen around here since the World Series (I think it’s bigger than Suns/Spurs a couple of years ago).

And even better….this community, and this fan base, deserves it.

The fans who sold out University of Phoenix Stadium in six minutes?  You deserve it.  The players, for whom the Cardinal logo was once a symbol of one of the worst teams the league had to offer, deserve it.  The coaches who changed a culture of losing in less than two seasons deserve it.  The Bidwill’s, who promised all along they would give us a real football team once they got a real football stadium, deserve it.  We’ve all been starving for this and finally our plates are full.

Even if some of them are stacked high with crow.

(Side note:  I visited the Arizona Game and Fish website Sunday, I can’t tell yet if it’s even legal to hunt crow in Arizona.  More on that Monday.  I visited fossilfarms.com, where I found I could buy Yak, Wild Boar, Turtle, Squab….that’s a Pigeon to you and me, Quail, Pheasant, Ostrich, Kangaroo…..but no Crow.  And I found a website devoted specifically to hunting Crow and cooking Crow but I can’t tell if they sell Crow.  I’ve got the staff of News/Talk 92-3 KTAR and Sports 620 KTAR looking into Crow.)