Larry Fitzgerald “Hurt” to Miss Out on Super Bowl

Operation “Get Larry a Ring” came to a screeching and merciless halt last night at the hands of Cam Newton and the Carolina Panthers. In the hours following the NFC Championship game, one of the NFL’s favorite sons was forced to come to grips with what he had missed out on, and just how hard it will be to get back there.

“It hurts to lose like this, in this fashion,” exhaled the impeccably dressed Fitzgerald at the post-game presser, fighting back tears in the wake of his team’s 49-15 thrashing. “I love my teammates. They fought all year through a lot of adversity, ups and downs. I’m really proud to be here, but obviously didn’t want it to end this way.”

Arguably one of the finest players in football to never earn a championship ring, Fitzgerald’s play was severely limited by his quarterback’s meltdown, while the rest of the team was thoroughly dominated on both sides of the ball.

Carson Palmer threw 4 interceptions in undoubtedly his worst showing as a Cardinal. He took 40 pass attempts to reach a measly 235 yards through the air; his longest attempt an inconsequential 21-yard touchdown pass to tight end Daniel Fells. The usually sure-handed Fitzgerald dropped two passes; more than he had dropped in some entire seasons of his illustrious 12-year career.

During Arizona’s remarkable Super Bowl run seven years ago, Fitzgerald put together one of the most dominant postseason performances of any wide receiver, only to see it all fall away as Pittsburgh’s Santonio Holmes crushed his dream with seconds remaining. Just last week against Green Bay, Fitz picked up where he left off with 8 catches for 176 yards, including an ironman catch-and-run in overtime to set up the winning touchdown…which he also scored.

Yesterday, Larry was shut down by Carolina’s maligned secondary to the tune of 30 yards on 4 catches. With questions over the longevity of his quarterback and the continuing rise of conference rivals, one has to wonder whether this iteration of Cardinals will ever get this chance again.