More Than A Myth: Are The Arizona Cardinals Cursed?

For every moment of my life, I've been a fan of the Miami Dolphins. If you know anything about the NFL, then you know it's a miserable existence. The team hasn't won a playoff game since I've been alive, and hasn't gotten close to a Super Bowl in the past 30 years.

There's one team more miserable to root for, but it may not be the team's fault they're this bad.

The Cardinals Before Arizona

While the Cardinals have become an Arizona staple, their home has not always been the Grand Canyon State. Their history starts in Chicago, Illinois in 1920, when the team was founded as the Chicago Cardinals. They found modest success in their early years, but as the landscape of the NFL changed, so to did the Cardinals.

"The Morgan Athletic Club c. 1900, the predecessor to the Chicago Cardinals"

They won two NFL Championships, one in 1925 and one in 1947 before moving to St. Louis in 1960. They found modest success there, but not enough to keep the team operational in Missouri. So, in 1987, the team was relocated to the Valley, and named "The Phoenix Cardinals".

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The Pottsville Curse

If you know anything about the Cardinals, you know it's miserable being a fan. They have the longest championship drought of any major sports franchise, and have been the face of mediocrity for decades. This isn't a cruel throw of karma, nor is it the fault of the organization's management. It's a curse.

Remember when I said the cardinals won the 1925 NFL Championship? Well, I lied. Technically.

In 1925, the NFL champion was determined by the team with the most wins on their schedule, nothing more, nothing less. Well, on December 6th, 1925, the Chicago Cardinals played the Pottsville Maroon for the rights to the championship trophy, with the Maroon coming away with a decisive 21-7 victory.

That didn't last long, as Pottsville was suspended and stripped of its Championship for illegally playing a game against the Notre Dame All-Star Team within the city limits of Philadelphia. This led to the game being officially forfeited, and the Cardinals were offered the title.

Pottsville did not take to this too kindly, and the citizens of the town gathered to place a curse on the cardinals organization. It's believed this worked, because the team has yet to win a Super Bowl, and it's looking like that won't happen for another 100 years at this point.

[NBC12][1925 NFL Championship Controversy via Wikipedia][Arizona Cardinals via Wikipedia]