43rd Super Bowl at Twilight of 43rd Presidency

Earlier this week, George W. Bush’s second term as the 43rd President ended. At that precise moment, Barack Obama became the United States’ 44th President. With his inauguration ceremony, the country closed the second chapter of what is arguably a dynasty and welcomed in a relative newcomer to the country’s highest office. In addition to being a political neophyte in many ways, Barack Obama is also the first Black American to assume the presidency. Both the media and the minority community lauded this fact as not only a point of pride, but also as proof of the opportunity in America. Eerie as it may be, the world of sports provides us with an interesting and well-timed parallel on its largest stage: the 43rd Super Bowl features a dynasty, Pittsburgh, and a newcomer, Arizona.

Known for its smothering defenses of the past and present, as well as its “terrible-towel” equipped diehard fans who would travel around the globe to see their team play, the Pittsburgh Steelers rank among the most successful National Football League (NFL) franchises of all time. Pittsburgh is tied with Dallas and San Francisco for most Super Bowl wins of any franchise (5). (To be fair, Dallas needed 8 appearances for those five victories, Pittsburgh needed 6, and San Francisco managed to win all 5 of its Super Bowl berths.) The Steelers season was surprisingly predictable: they won most of their games by playing hard, physical defense. Their offense was good enough to get the job done, but gave up a lot of sacks and relied on their defense to bail them out. Even so, the Steelers were favored in both of their playoff games and defeated both the Chargers and division rival Ravens handily. On February 1 in Tampa Bay’s Raymond James Stadium, the Steelers will try to win the record-breaking 6th Super Bowl, which would be their second in four years under the young star quarterback Ben Roethlisberger. All that stands in their way is a surprisingly resurgent team that no one expected.

Despite being one of the longest running franchises in the NFL, the Arizona Cardinals have not had much reason to celebrate. Having moved from Chicago to St. Louis, and finally to Arizona, the Cardinals have not won a championship since 1947, more than twenty years before the first Super Bowl! Between the 1949 and 2007 seasons, the Cardinals only won two playoff games, and no one expected much from them this season. After settling their quarterback controversy, opting for the experienced Kurt Warner over the recently-drafted Heisman Trophy winner Matt Leinart, the Cardinals managed to win their division with a mediocre 9-7 record, due largely to the weakness of their divisional opponents. The Cardinals only won 3 games outside of their division, with the last win coming in mid-October. Furthermore, after clinching their division in early December, the Cardinals went on to play uninspiring football, especially on defense, and lost by 21 and 40 points in the last three weeks of the season. Most people expected the Falcons to defeat the Cardinals on Wild-Card Weekend, but the Arizona defense shocked the Falcons and helped set up a six point Cardinal victory. In the divisional round, Warner threw three touchdown passes, and the Cardinal defense intercepted Panthers Quarterback Jake Delhomme five times to pull the biggest playoff upset of the season, beating the Panthers by 20 points on their home turf. After making their first NFC Championship game in franchise history, the Cardinals prevailed over the Eagles and ensured their first trip to the Super Bowl. In the last three weeks, the Cardinals have won more playoff games than in the sixty previous years.

Next Sunday, the country will tune in to what is always the biggest game of the year. Many don’t have an allegiance to either team, but all like the food, company, and, just this one time per year, the commercials. The winner of the game is sometimes the last concern, but this year may be different. A rising dynasty and an upcoming star are meeting head on, and only one’s dream can be fulfilled. But who will it be? If contemporary politics has any say in the matter, the Cardinals should prevail, but they’ll have to get over the seven point handicap Sin City casinos are giving to the Steelers.

by John Lentz Jr.