The Cardinals are in the Super Bowl(no joke)
By thordain 12 Comments
I'm still having trouble grasping this.....The Arizona Cardinals are in Super Bowl 43, where they'll play the Pittsburgh Steelers. Its incredible to me. For those of you who lack an
1. They last won a division title in 1975
2. They were last in the playoffs in 1998
3. They never played in an NFC championship before this season
4. They have never played in a Super Bowl before now
5. They last won a national championship in 1947. That's 61 years, the second longest championship drought in American pro sports(the Chicago Cubs 100 years without a championship takes the title.).
Now the Cardinals are in the Super Bowl, representing the National Football conference. To a football fan who knows their history it's incredible. This is a team that never was known for wining anything, but was known for it's constant failures and disappointments. The team has dealt with moves from Chicago to Saint Louis, from Saint Louis to Phoenix and from Phoenix to Glendale with every move meeting the same results, losing. Obviously the past few years have been more of the same. Still the last ten years have been some of the Cardinals best, with Dennis Green coming in and while not turning the team into winners, building up some talent in the franchise. This Cards team was built around great players like receivers Larry Fitzgerald and Anquan Boldin. The additions of quarterback Kurt Warner in 2005 and running backEdgerrin James in 2006 were keys to making this Cards offense into the beast that it is. Before coming to Arizona Warner was a two-time MVP for the Saint Louis Rams, winning a Super Bowl there in 2000. After a few bad seasons bouncing around the NFL, a so called washed up Warner joined the Cards.After several succesful seasons playing for the Colts James came to Arizona looking for a second chance after a knee injury ended his career with Indianapolis.
While James was never the same back he had been in Indianapolis, he brought some star power and a dedication to the run game for the aerial attack featured by the Cardinals. Together these guys helped the Cardinals to an 8-8 record last season, but coming into this season no one predicted Arizona to make it to the Super Bowl. The Cardinals won a weak NFC West early and coasted for the second half of the season, finishing 9-7. By this point they had lost several big games and most predicted they would lose in the first round of the playoffs. After this Arizona turned on the magic they had hidden for the second half of the season. First they defeated a powerful young team in Atlanta at home. Then they had to take on a heavily favored Carolina Panthers squad. Not phased at all by the odds the Cardinals decked the Panthers, winning 33-13. Arizona was off to host the NFC championship game against a red hot Philadelphia Eagles squad. Again, no one gave the Cardinals a chance to win, citing a
dominant Eagles defense and a resurgent Donovan McNabb. Again the Cardinals stunned the world, taking a 24-6 lead at half-time. In the second half however, it appeard the Cards' magical season might be over, as the Eagles scored 19 unanswered points to take a 25-24 lead with just 10 minutes to go. Kurt Warner showed he still had the talent inside him leading the Cardinals down the field in an eight minute drive to take a 32-25 lead. Two failed Eagles drives later, the Arizona Cardinals sealed their first trip to the Super Bowl. Once again they'll be underdogs against a powerful Pittsburgh team but I believe that they will once again come out on top and win. I believe everyone has to have their chance in the spotlight and this Superbowl will be Arizona's chance to do it. So you can mark me down as a Cardinals supporter in this one, I believe in this team.