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When it comes to sporting futility, no city had it quite as bad as Cleveland. That all ended on Sunday, when the Cavaliers upset the Golden State Warriors and won the cities first NBA Championship.
While the state of Arizona has had one professional title from the big four sports, the 2001 Arizona Diamondbacks, the two longest tenants of the desert have never brought home the gold.
Well, according to Adam Schein of NFL.com, Arizona is the team in the best position to break through as first time Super Bowl champions out of the 13 NFL franchises that have never won a Super Bowl,
Arizona has become a model franchise under team president Michael Bidwill, with the Cardinals playing in a gorgeous stadium.
Since the move into University of Phoenix Stadium, the Arizona Cardinals have made the playoffs four times, made it to an NFC Title game twice and one Super Bowl, and Schein doesn't stop there,
They employ the best head coach-general manager combination in the league: Bruce Arians and Steve Keim. The roster is loaded in every phase. Keim addressed the one glaring weakness — edge pass rushing — by trading for Chandler Jones this offseason.
While others can argue about "the best in the league" title bestowed on Keim and Arians, there is little doubt that they are one of the best groups in the league.
Schein ends his gushing on Arizona with this,
The offense is versatile and dynamic. Carson Palmer, fresh off the best statistical season of his career, still should have gas left in the tank at age 36. It certainly helps that the veteran quarterback is surrounded by explosive playmakers: receivers Larry Fitzgerald, John Brown and Michael Floyd, as well as second-year running back David Johnson, a player Arians believes could be ‘one of the all-time best.'
While belief outside of Arizona is at an all time high, expectations from the fan base have never been greater. When, if ever has the idea of Super Bowl or bust been realistic for the Arizona Cardinals? It is a nice problem to finally have.