Sports are a unique roller coaster ride that we gladly stand in line for week after week. We sit down and buckle up because we never know what is going to happen. That’s the excitement of athletics: anything can happen. Let me give you the run-down every other week so those of you who have no idea what is happening can at least get a summary from a fanatic like me. You may be thinking, “but she’s a girl, she doesn’t know what is going on.” Yes, I am a girl, and yes I know what I am talking about.
For those of you who don’t know, the Arizona Cardinals have had an ongoing competition between the quarterbacks on their team. During a day of practice, each QB has to throw a football around 30-40 yards into a bucket in the corner of the end zone. The QB that does not make the football in the bucket has to warm up wearing a costume that the winning QB of the week comes up with.
This all started last season while the Cardinals were being filmed for a new NFL Films series that would give fans the ultimate insight into how NFL teams operate off of the field. The first series is called “All or Nothing: A Season with the Arizona Cardinals.” Last season the Cardinals went 13-3 during their 2015 season. They were on a 9-game win streak when they met the Seahawks on January 3rd; this was the game that knocked them out of the running for the Super Bowl. After that game, the Cardinals were deflected to the NFC Divisional Round game. During the 2015 season, the Cardinals were the team to watch, which made the QB loser outfits all the more entertaining. Some of the costumes involved grass skirts, crop tops and spandex with Ugg boots and even an inflatable dinosaur costume.
Courtesy: Rob Schumacher
The full series following the Arizona Cardinals throughout their season premiered on television and Amazon this past July. Even though the series is over and the off-field cameras are put away, the team still continues to play the Chuck it to the Bucket challenge.
As if this challenge wasn’t funny enough, cornerback Patrick Peterson plays with the QBs every practice. Apparently he thinks he can compete with guys who have been throwing a football for almost their entire lives. He normally loses and is left to run out of the tunnel for warm ups looking like a fool, but this past September before their game against Tampa Bay, QB Carson Palmer was the ultimate loser. He ran out of the tunnel in a full body suit that was modeled after the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man.
The most recent competition loser was cornerback Patrick Peterson a few weeks ago. He came charging out of the tunnel for warmups dressed in an iconic dinosaur suit. Watching him run and work on footwork in this body suit is one of the funniest things you’ll see all week. The loser of the Chuck it to the Bucket challenge does not always dress up before the next game, but I most certainly will be tuning in to the Cardinals pregame warmups a lot more often now in the hope of catching a glimpse of the next loser.