By Asif Malik
GLENDALE, Ariz. — Today is the day the weekend has been building toward. At halftime of the Arizona Cardinals’ game against the Denver Broncos at State Farm Stadium, Larry Fitzgerald will be honored three ways at once: induction into the Cardinals Ring of Honor as its 20th member, the Pro Football Hall of Fame Ring of Excellence, and the retirement of his No. 11.
The weekend started Saturday with a personal touch, as the Cardinals unveiled custom red jackets for Ring of Honor members during a ceremony honoring Fitzgerald. Each jacket’s lining features career photos and milestones. Five recipients received jackets: Fitzgerald, Adrian Wilson, Roy Green, Roger Wehrli and Michael Bidwill, representing his father, Bill.
The goodbye never happened the first time. Fitzgerald played his last game in an empty stadium in 2020, never announced a retirement, and simply moved on — no farewell tour, no final ovation, nothing. Today, the Cardinals finally give him one.
Fitzgerald, who went into the Hall of Fame in Canton this summer with the Class of 2026, spent all 17 of his NFL seasons in Arizona. He spoke about the ceremony on Thursday and joked about the way he left.
“I told you a long time ago — I’m a Fitzgerald, so there’s some Irish in there a long, long way back,” he said. “The Irish goodbye is kind of my thing.”
He was more serious about why today matters. “I left in 2020 and as you guys all remember, it was a very different time. Playing in empty stadiums and not really having the same media availability — everything became just Zoom. I felt like my goodbye was on Zoom,” he said. “So to be able to go in that stadium and feel that energy again — I’m just hoping when I go out there, we’re up at half taking care of business and that the fans will be in a lot better mood.”
The ceremony itself will be brief — Fitzgerald estimated his remarks at 60 to 90 seconds, pointing out it is an NFL halftime and there is a game to finish. Pro Football Hall of Fame president Jim Porter will be on hand for the ring presentation, and Fitzgerald’s name and number will be unveiled in the stadium.
“I want to say just how much I appreciate the fans,” Fitzgerald said. “What it meant to be able to don that Cardinals helmet. You know the memories that we’ve been able to share out there in Glendale. Just the energy that I received all those times coming into that place and the love that I receive still to this day, going around in the community. I just want to be able to reiterate how much that has meant to me and my family and is something that I will never forget.”
The numbers need no buildup. Drafted third overall in 2004, Fitzgerald caught 1,432 passes for 17,492 yards and 121 touchdowns — all franchise records, and the catches and yards rank second in NFL history behind only Jerry Rice. He played 263 games, the most in league history by a wide receiver for one team, and made 11 Pro Bowls.
He becomes the 20th member of the Ring of Honor, the first added since Carson Palmer in 2019, and just the sixth player in franchise history to have his number retired, joining Larry Wilson (8), Pat Tillman (40), Stan Maudlin (77), J.V. Cain (88) and Marshall Goldberg (99).
“No one who has ever worn a Cardinals uniform is more deserving of this honor,” Cardinals owner Michael Bidwill said when the honor was announced. “His excellence on the field was only surpassed by the way he represented our team and our community off of it.”
Kickoff today is 1:05 p.m. at State Farm Stadium, on CBS. For once, halftime is the main event.
Article provided by Sports Tracker
© Old Town News Scottsdale — oldtownnews.us
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