Tom Brady is getting a statue of himself outside Gillette Stadium after his marvelous career with the New England Patriots. It’s always a fun sight to see for fans of a franchise who get to see their favorite players and team legends become immortalized forever.
Several amazing players and other football figures have earned such an honor across every team in the NFL. The Baltimore Ravens have a statue of both Ray Lewis and Johnny Unitas, the latter of whom won a Super Bowl with the then Baltimore Colts.
Speaking of the Colts, Peyton Manning has his for the Indianapolis version of the franchise.
Dan Marino has a monument for the Miami Dolphins. Jim Brown with the Cleveland Browns. Tom Landry with the Dallas Cowboys. Vince Lombardi with the Green Bay Packers. You get the idea.
An honor of such prestige does not and should not be handed out lightly. As insane as this may sound, not every Hall of Fame player for a franchise deserves a statue. I’m sorry, but I’m not wrong.
But it does beg the question of who is worthy of an honor like that. And although you would imagine the list to be massive, it isn’t and shouldn’t be.
NFL.com’s Adam Rank made a short-list of five players who are worthy of such an honor.
There were a few names omitted that I believe were snubbed (none more so than Drew Brees for the New Orleans Saints), but there was one player who deserves a statue as much, if not more, than any other player on this list.
Larry Fitzgerald.
We can start with this question: Does Larry Fitzgerald deserve a statue for the Arizona Cardinals? If your answer isn’t a resounding “YES!” then I’m afraid you are a bozo, at best.
Fitzgerald has been the face of the Cardinals since their move to the desert and even with the franchise’s previous stints in Chicago and St. Louis, he remains one of the biggest figureheads in its storied history.
The future Pro Football Hall of Famer, pending his eligibility becoming official, defined a franchise for nearly 20 years. During that time, he saw peaks and valleys, high and lows, and some of the Cardinals’ best and worst seasons.
And yet, he never wavered and never requested a trade. He just went to work every Sunday and put together one of the greatest career’s a wide receiver has ever assembled.
Rank made his argument:
“I wrestled with this one, because the Cardinals have a great tribute to Pat Tillman outside of State Farm Stadium, which really raises the bar high in terms of who else should enter such company. But Fitzgerald absolutely delivered. A class act both on and off the field during his 17-year career with the Cardinals, he finished with the second-most receiving yards in NFL history (17,492, behind only Jerry Rice), earned 11 Pro Bowl selections and won the 2016 Walter Payton Man of the Year award. This Cardinals icon is very deserving of such an honor.”
The Pat Tillman statue is special and beyond precious in a seemingly endless amount of ways, and that’s all that needs to be said there for the American hero.
But as far as Fitzgerald goes, he is worthy of such an honor. His career is a remarkable one full of greatness even in forgettable and even horrific seasons. When #11 was on the field, Cardinals fans tuned in to watch — he was the saving grace for a franchise that struggled to give the fans what they wanted most.
The accolades and numbers speak for themselves, but there is simply one reason Fitzgerald deserves to be immortalized, and it has nothing to do with his on the field production.
Fitzgerald should be given a statue in his honor is for the way he conducted himself.
As we mentioned, Fitzgerald stuck it out with one franchise his entire career — which is a rarity in sports including the NFL. Not only that, but he spent 17 seasons — almost two decades — with one franchise. Not even guys who are receiving or have statues like Tom Brady and Peyton Manning can say that!
It makes Fitzgerald one of one.
And in that timeframe, he never complained. In fact, he always embraced the team and certainly the fans who were loyal to him more than the franchise at different points in time. His big smile was always something that gave even the most depressed Cardinals fan hope of getting a win that day.
Speaking of which, he did that several, several times. Perhaps that was never more evident than when the playoffs rolled around. Arizona didn’t make many trips in Fitzgerald’s 17 seasons with just four appearances in that time and nine games played. But man did he make an impact in those games.
The 2008 postseason run to the Super Bowl was incredible by itself with playoff records for yards (546) and touchdowns (7) in a single run. No one will ever forget his 64-yard touchdown reception in the Super Bowl that dropped the jaws of everyone watching.
We also won’t forget his heroics in the 2015 playoff game against the Green Bay Packers including a 75-yard scamper in overtime before taking a shovel pass into the endzone for the win.
I’m not exaggerating — I’m getting chills just writing this.
But again, these are things that Cardinals fans will hold dearly forever — and they should. Fitzgerald gave a fan base that has known little success something to watch and enjoy. When the stakes were at their highest, he showed up. It was special
And that’s what makes Fitzgerald so special. He provided an endless amount of cheering, smiling, tears, laughter, and joy across 272 total games played. Even people who weren’t fans of the Cardinals knew who Fitzgerald was.
Not just that, they knew how great he was. Some may have owned his jersey simply because it was Larry-freaking-Fitzgerald.
He was, is, and always will be the face of the Arizona Cardinals and will be forever beloved by all who got to witness him. Perhaps it’s even more than that.
Maybe, just maybe, Larry Fitzgerald is the face of Arizona sports — professional, collegiate, amateur, or any other category — entirely.
Should he get a statue from the Arizona Cardinals? You better believe it, and you better believe that not a single player on Rank’s list or nearly any other deserves it the way that Fitzgerald does.
He’s more than a player… he is Arizona sports.
Arizona remains one of the fastest-growing states in the country, but new migration data suggests that growth is starting to level out.
According to the latest numbers from U-Haul, Arizona ranked number seven nationwide for growth in 2025. While that is down one spot from the year before, it marks the sixth consecutive year the state has remained in the top ten.
The rankings are based on more than 2.5 million one-way moving transactions for the Arizona-based company.
What stands out in the data is how close those numbers are.
In 2025, 50.3% of U-Haul’s one-way moves came into Arizona, while 49.7% moved out. In practical terms, that means for nearly every family moving into the state, there is another one packing up and leaving.
That does not mean Arizona is losing population. However, it does suggest the margin of growth is getting thinner than it has been in recent years.
Even with that shift, the greater Phoenix metro area continues to be a major driver of growth. Phoenix ranked fifth nationwide among U.S. metro areas, fueled by job creation and new housing across the Valley.
U-Haul leaders point to continued development tied to major employers, including chip manufacturing and data centers, as well as ongoing residential construction, as reasons Phoenix remains a top destination.
Experts who study migration trends say when in-migration and out-migration numbers get this close, it can be a sign that affordability pressures are starting to play a role, especially when it comes to housing.
The latest data does not point to a mass exodus, but it does show Arizona entering a period of transition, balancing opportunity and growth with affordability concerns.
The 2026 Arizona Legacy Races in Buckeye, Ariz., are ringing in a new year for futurity horses December 30 – January 6, at the Buckeye Equestrian & Events Center. Formerly known as the MVP Futurity and Greg Olson Futurity, these two races have been a staple in many professional trainers’ schedules for decades. This year, the two events boast $22,000 in added money.
Linzie Lindsey and Fame Dancin Yola claimed the Round 1 win with a 17.577 for $1,959. Barbara Merrill rode TKW Eye Am Tess to the 2D win.
After finishing out of the 1D money in Round 1, Loralee Ward and Dark Honey ran the fastest time of the futurity with a 17.030 to claim the Round 2 win. The duo also earned the Futurity Reserve Championship for $1,652.
Lindsey and Fame Dancin Yola finished second in Round 2 with a 17.164, adding $1,603 to their futurity earnings and claiming the Futurity Championship for another $2,019.
Jenna Duhon and PMC AintSheBeautiful earned the Round 2 2D win. In the 2D Average, it was Estella Martin and Quanahs Kingdom claiming the win.
Round 1 of a very tough Derby went to Jana Bean and Feature This Goodbye with a 17.268. 2025 futurity standout Blissful Version and Lora Nichols finished second in Round 1 with a 17.282, won Round 2 with a 17.032, and claimed the Average win.
“Buddy” and Nichols were in contention for the highest money-earning futurity horse of the previous season, before the cancellation of the last two major events of the season due to EHV-1. By $7 million sire Winners Version, Buddy banked over $300,000 in his futurity year.
Megan McLeod-Sprague and Seis Corona (“Jagger”) were hot off the 2025 National Finals Rodeo. The duo won the Roohide Hot Rod with a 17.004 for $1,368. They also earned the Friday Open 1D win for $1,083.
With the first 16-second run of the weekend, Sherry Cervi and MP Meter My Fame won the Saturday Open 1D with a 16.969.
Rita Cheeney and HP Dash Ta Fairfax ran the only other sub-17-second run of the weekend, with a 16.996 that took the top spot in Sunday’s Open 1D.
Nichols and Buddy doubled down on their derby earnings, placing deep in the Open 1D both days, as well as the Roohide Hot Rod, and Big Time Boss.
Youth competitor Tabitha Dyal also had an outstanding weekend, earning Open 1D money Friday, Saturday, and Sunday aboard Slym Shady. She swept the Youth 1D on Slym Shady and earned Open 1D, Open 2D, and Youth 1D checks on Promise Me Fame Guys and Smooth Operraider. Dyal wrapped up her weekend with several checks in the Big Time Boss.
Authorities say a prominent California agriculture heir is accused of traveling to Arizona to kill his estranged wife amid a bitter divorce, a case now drawing national attention for its cross-state trail and high-profile ties.
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