Smith, Cardinals a promising marriage

[PA Season Ticket Holder]

PHOENIX (March 26, 2003) -- Emmitt Smith could have easily called it quits, and a fair number of us who had watched him at the very top of his game would have applauded the decision.

Way to go, Emmitt. You left just at the right time. You left wearing the same colors you wore at the start of one of the greatest careers in NFL history. You left before the natural forces of aging would make you like something less than the extraordinary talent you have been for the past 13 seasons. You knew when to say when.

Smith, of course, saw it differently. Maybe the Dallas Cowboys were ready to part ways with him, but the NFL's all-time rushing leader wasn't ready to part ways with being a player. That was a large part of why, on Wednesday, Smith agreed to a two-year contract with the Arizona Cardinals.

http://nfl.com/news/story/6279425

[Cntrygal]

Willie Mays became a Met, Johnny Unitas became a Charger, Michael Jordan became a Wizard, and now Emmitt Smith is a Cardinal. Smith has joined the pattern of fading stubborn superstar whose ego will not allow him to bow gracefully out of his life-long passion.

Does he realize that only a carnival-like career, weighing more on how much cash a name can bring in rather than one's talent level, is all that awaits? Arizona is the land of sun, is there any better palace to ride out the golden years? Well, excluding Cincinnati, yes, just about anywhere else would do.

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[The_Philster]

Jerry Jones found it difficult to watch Emmitt Smith holding up a No. 22 Arizona Cardinals jersey.

"Personally, it was hard to see Emmitt in red,'' the Dallas Cowboys owner acknowledged Wednesday. "When he was making his announcement, it brought a little lump to my throat.''

Jones' comments came less than a week after Smith signed a two-year contract with the Cardinals. The NFL career rushing leader had been released by the Cowboys on Feb. 27 after 13 seasons and three Super Bowl championships with the team.

"He'll always be a Cowboy, and always have a star on his helmet in my mind,'' Jones said. "Again, he and I hope all of the fans understand that we needed to go in another direction.''...more

[Cntrygal]

The Arizona Cardinals will play six of the past 10 Super Bowl winners this season.
A highlight of the 2003 schedule announced yesterday includes the return of NFL career rushing leader Emmitt Smith to Dallas, where he helped the Cowboys win championships in 1994 and 1996.
Smith, who signed with the Cardinals on March 26, will be wearing another team's colors for the first time in his 14 seasons when he takes the field at Texas Stadium on Oct. 5.


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