Alberto Mariani/Cronkite News

Phoenix fans watch Game 3 of the 2021 NBA Finals on the big screen and catch Milwaukee Bucks player Giannis Antetokounmpo celebrating after a big play.

Sports fans in Arizona have experienced countless soul-crushing moments, including the Cardinals’ Super Bowl run and the Suns’ heartbreaking loss to the Bucks in last year’s NBA finals. Both teams were so close to winning it all.

But these kinds of end-of-the-road losses are nothing new for Arizona sports. It seems just when we almost make it to the top of the mountain, we’re kicked back down to the bottom.

That’s just one of the reasons Tim Ring says Arizona sports fans have something of an inferiority complex — and a burning desire to take it all the way.

Ring is a longtime Valley sportscaster who you might have seen on ABC15 or heard on Arizona Sports radio. But he’s covered sports in markets around the country, and he says Phoenix is different.

The Show spoke with him to learn why, and the conversation began by discussing the fans’ griping about getting their due from the national media.

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