PART V : PHOENIX

Actually it was more like Tempe we were hanging out in. After catching the 6am flight from Frisco, we were in the Valley of the Sun by late morning! We found a decent sports bar (called 'Fumbles' - it could only happen in Cardinal land) to watch the early kickoffs. Sadly our long term hero and king of sports smack talk radio Jim Rome wasn't in the bar ... it was only the Cards radio network broadcasting to about 3 people!

Tempe is basically Arizona State University and a bunch of cacti. Because our game kicked off at 2pm local time - this meant this was our 3rd NFL game in less than 24 hours! Now that's a tripleheader!

Pull back from those cacti on the hill (above picture) and you have Sun Devil Stadium! Some ole boy actually sits up there all game probably in charge of all the fireworks they let off from there. If not he must have had a hell of a shock!

We were here for Cards vs Pokes - the last meeting of these teams as NFC East 'rivals'.

The Cowboys had 3 prominent Claymores playing for them on this day. First up was LB Jamal Brooks (#50) who played for the Claymores last year (2001). After playing special teams most of the season in Dallas, injuries forced Jamal into the defensive staring line up late in the year (though not on this day) and he performed well.

The Pokes were starting rookie Qunicy Carter at QB and boy did it show! Here the rookie rolls right on 4th and goal from the 1 and dives into the end zone. Sadly he forgot to bring the ball with him and it dribbled out of the end zone for a touchback!

The lonely life of a backup QB ... it's Clint Stoerner (#5) the Claymores starter in 2001! Poor Clint, the only company he had on the sideline was Ryan Leaf so no question he did the right thing here!

Early in the 2nd Q, Cards LB Ronald McKinnon picked off a Carter pass and ran it back 24 yards to give Arizona a 7-3 lead. But Coach Campo would stick with the rookie all game ...

What's this? A Cowboys touchdown? Yes! WR Reggie Swinton caught a pass from Carter as two Cardinals collided and waltzed in for six points to give Dallas a 10-7 lead! Swinton, an ex-Arena player, had set up what would be the Cowboys only other points of the days earlier with a 43 punt return in the 1st Q that led to a field goal.

Claymore #3 was CB Duane Hawthorne (#38), who was NFLE Co-Defensive Player of the Year in 2000. He's nailed down a starting CB in Big D and played well in this game with 3 tackles and an assist. He helped hold NFL leading WR David Boston to just 3 grabs for 26 yards. However #81 Frank Sanders got loose on a 57 yard play (not involving Duane) that gave the Cards 1st and goal at the Pokes 1 yard line.

And from there RB Michael Pittman dove over the top, landed on his back, kept the ball in his hands, and scored a TD for the Big Red. 14-10 Cards!

Then newly signed and extremely wild K Cedric Oglesby tacked on a 35 yard FG to give the Cards a 17-10 lead at the half. He was replacing Bill Gramatica who 'comically' injured his knee while celebrating the week before.

The sun sets behind the press boxes (where we sat below in the 1st half) as Shuggie looks on.

The sun was setting on the Cardinals miserable existence in the NFC East too - which included just one division title since 1970!

The sun glistening off the other side of the stadium. This is easily the most picturesque stadium in the league. You can see the cacti hill from another angle. There was a football game still going on somewhere below ...

No more words are necessary here!

Emmitt Smith sweeps right and runs to daylight or rather sunlight. Emmitt kept plugging away in the 2nd half helping Dallas move the ball, but the rest of the O made sure they kept stalling!

Smith's had a tough year but he had one of his better games on this day, and has Walter Payton's career rushing record fully in his sights now.

FINAL

CARDINALS 17 COWBOYS 10

Game MVP: Cowboys RB Emmitt Smith - 26 carries for 128 yards. Fought for every yard with the whole D keying on him, and didn't get much help.

Claymores FTP fanclub were at the game! You could say they were Feelin' Tempe's Power while cheering on False Throw Plummer (sorry Debbie). In the 2nd half they had to Find The Points and in the end they helped us cheer for Big Red as they F'd The Pokes!

T

Duane was definitely one of the nicest Claymores we ever met and he kept up that reputation after the game. It was kind of surreal - there were hundred of Cowboys screaming for players (well Emmitt Smith) - and only Clint and Duane came over at first. After they had gone none of the so called fans had a clue who we had been talking to!

Many Claymores fans thought Clint deserved to be behind bars at various points of last season but we thought that was totally unfair! Clint ended up having a decent year in Texas, winning his first NFL start (versus these same Cards). Hopefully Jerry Jones will end the Ryan leaf experiment and Clint will keep his roster spot next year!

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