TUCSON, Ariz. — From Flagstaff to Lake Havasu, Arizonans are suddenly clamoring to claim an allegiance to the Cardinals and climb aboard their bandwagon — at least through the Super Bowl.

The newfound pride in the formerly sad-sack franchise stands in contrast to the lukewarm loyalty the team generated in previous years. And the Cardinals' presence in Sunday's game has created a whole new level of interest.

Merchants are seeing runs on jerseys, hats, pennants and other team gear. Cars are sporting red Cardinals flags. Sports talk shows are being flooded with fans' calls and blogs with e-mails.

"Some people have been asking us if we actually sell tickets to the game," said Mark Letcher, manager of a Sport Zone store in Tucson's Park Mall, where 40 to 50 customers a day have been buying Cardinals memorabilia.

Flagstaff makes no secret of its relationship with the Cardinals. Posted outside City Hall are two bright red signs that proclaim the mountainous city the team's summer home.

All around town, excitement for the Super Bowl-bound Cardinals is growing. Banners are popping up in support of the team, and local sporting goods stores are struggling to keep Cardinals merchandise on the shelves.

The Cardinals' monthlong training stint at Northern Arizona University "really is a special time, and it puts Flagstaff and our business community in a very enviable position statewide," said Julie Pastrick, president and chief executive of the Flagstaff Chamber of Commerce.

Flagstaff city employees are even being encouraged to wear the Cardinals' colors on Friday.

In Lake Havasu City, Tammi Pray told Today's News-Herald newspaper she expects a big party Sunday at the Desert Martini for Cardinals fans. "It will be a packed house, and we always have lots of beer," the owner said.

Bars, grills and restaurants there and across the state will offer food and drink specials during the game, some each time the Cardinals score.

"Everyone wants David to take out Goliath," said Steve Anselmo, co-owner of the Home Plate Bar and Grill in Tucson, normally a favorite spot for Washington Redskins fans. "The Steelers have a tremendous following, the Cardinals have never been there. No one ever gives a damn about them yesterday or the day before ...

"Then they sell out the Eagles game in six minutes. Yeah, the biggest bandwagon in the world's out there. An aircraft carrier wouldn't be big enough to hold the bandwagon that these guys have. And it should be like that."

Tucson sports talk radio host Glenn Parker, a former NFL offensive lineman who was on the losing end of four Super Bowls with the Buffalo Bills and another with the New York Giants, said, "There's a bigger excitement here about the Super Bowl than there has been in many years past."

"More and more people have been talking about the Cardinals, and the game," he said. "Obviously they weren't (fans) all along or the Cardinals' games would have been sold out over the years."

While many are newcomers, some loyal-to-the-core Cardinals fans scattered outside metro Phoenix have endured the bitter past — only two winning records during 21 years in Arizona.

"I'm true-blue and died-in-cotton," said Todd Brown, a 45-year-old school counselor. "When they got to Arizona, it was a reason to follow a team.

"But then came years of 4-12, 5-11, and so it was kind of hard, especially when your brother's a Cowboys fan and your friend's a Pittsburgh fan" — and both teams have gone to and won Super Bowls.

"It was a pretty lonely existence, and you took a lot of ribbing, but it was kind of fun," he added.

Tim Peeler, manager of Tucson's Wildcat House sports bar and "a Cardinals fan forever," remembers previous years when at least half the crowd wore visitors' colors at Cardinals' home games. He took a friend to the Cardinals-Miami Dolphins game, "All you could see was red."

Now, he said, "I've had regular customers who are calling and apologizing to me, all the grief that they've given me over the years."

Over the past few weeks, season ticket holder Steve Shaff of Flagstaff has added several new championship shirts to his collection of Cardinals gear. He'll break out popcorn tins and stadium mugs he's collected over the years on Sunday when he hosts 30 friends to watch the game on a 58-inch TV at his home.

"It's been hard to be a loyal fan because they've been so bad," Shaff said. "It's really a chance to celebrate our NFL team like we've never done before."