And Then There Were Two...

          In a little over a week from now, an American tradition will take place for the 43rd time in history; the Super Bowl. In it are the Arizona Cardinals and the Pittsburgh Steelers. These two teams have shown they got what it takes to hoist the Lombardi trophy.  Going deeper into each team though, you can see being in different conferences is the the only difference between them.

            First you have the Steelers. A rich tradition of a tenacious defense, Hall-of-Famer players, and arguably one of the loudest stadiums in the NFL. Lead by Ben Roethlisberger, the Steelers by any means didn't have a schedule that helped them out.  In fact, according to the stats from the previous NFL season, they had the toughest schedule in the league this season, including several teams that were in the playoffs such as the Cowboys, Titans, Jaguars, and the defending Super Champions in the Giants. 

          In the end, the Steelers locked up the number two seed in the AFC with a 12-4 record.  After their first round bye, on a week where three of the top four seeds in the NFL playoffs lost, the Steelers were the exception and beat the Chargers to grab home field advantage for the AFC Championship against their division rival, the Ravens who knocked out the Titans, a team that the Steelers lost to, costing them the number 1 seed in the AFC. 

               The AFC Championship game between the Ravens and Steelers was just like what all the experts said it'd be; smash mouth football.  In the end the Steelers were able to beat the Ravens for the third time in the season 23-14 and grabbed their ticket to the Super Bowl.

               While many people could see the Steelers being in the big game, no one that wasn't a sensible fan ever imagined the team playing against the Steelers being there: the Arizona Cardinals. 

                 When they were the first team in the league to clinch their division and lock up a playoff spot, many were quick to point out how terrible their division was that year. The other three teams in their division went a combined 13-35 (compared to the Steeler's division, the AFC North at 19-28).  After clinching the division, the Cardinals began a terrible streak of games where they were blown out including a 47-7 loss to the Patriots (who didn't go to the playoffs).  Because of this many felt this had to result in the league possibly restructuring the playoff system. 

                  Either way, after the playoffs games were set, many felt the Cardinals would be out by the first round.  Their first opponent the Falcons, were a hot team lead by a young rookie quarterback, and the second leading rusher in the league during the regular season.  The Cardinals came out strong and in the end, showed the world that they deserved to be in the playoffs defeating the Falcons 30-24. Fitzgerald "introduced himself" to those that might have never heard of him with over 100 yards receiving including a TD pass thrown into double coverage.  The next week they were again picked to lose because now they were going to be going against the number two seed in the playoffs in the Carolina Panthers team who never lost a game at home during the regular season.  The Panthers had also beaten the Cardinals earlier during the regular season.  Easily the biggest shocker of the playoffs, the Cardinals not only beat the Panthers, but crush them 33-13.  Beating the Panthers meant that the Cardinals would get to host the Eagles in the NFC Championship Game.  Again picked by many to lose, the Cardinals beat the Eagles in a nailbiter 32-25 to advance to the Super Bowl.

                  No matter what team you are a fan of, this Super Bowl should get you excited as much as I am.  You have the best defense in the league going up against a high powered offense.  Two young coaches who have what it takes to be back in this game again in the not too distant future.  In the end, only one team will be able to call themselves Super Bowl Champions.

                  Thanks for reading and I look forward to your comments of the article.  I will also try to crank out a couple more articles leading up to the big game next Sunday.

Comments

[Dylan Grant]

Awesome! Finally a sports incorparted blog with technolgy!