Super Bowl XLIII

[infrared41]

I know Jesus will be rooting for the Cardinals in the Super Bowl on the account of Warner, but before I make any bets I want to know who Moses, Mohamed, Buddha, the various Hindu Gods, Zeus, and the Flying Spaghetti Monster are all rooting for.

Buddha is down on The Cardinals. I believe Zeus is just playing the over/under and other bets that don't have anything to do with who wins. The Flying Spaghetti Monster is withholding his pick. I guess he's appearing on one of those TV shows where the guys claim that they will give you a guaranteed winner. The Monster will reveal his pick then. I haven't heard anything on the rest of them.

[rams80]

I know Jesus will be rooting for the Cardinals in the Super Bowl on the account of Warner, but before I make any bets I want to know who Moses, Mohamed, Buddha, the various Hindu Gods, Zeus, and the Flying Spaghetti Monster are all rooting for.

Buddha is down on The Cardinals. I believe Zeus is just playing the over/under and other bets that don't have anything to do with who wins. The Flying Spaghetti Monster is withholding his pick. I guess he's appearing on one of those TV shows where the guys claim that they will give you a guaranteed winner. The Monster will reveal his pick then. I haven't heard anything on the rest of them.

Shiva the Destroyer is trying to steer an asteroid towards the stadium again and Moses is waiting for a sign from above. I have no clue about the others.

[Cujo]

Coming soon to a Super Bowl near you... The Return of the Cookie Monster!!

I saw her on the news a couple weeks ago right around Christmas time, she went from Johnny Unitas Jr. to Cindy McCain Jr.

Had to see this for myself, and....

Holy ! That's really her??

[scraw28]

Coming soon to a Super Bowl near you... The Return of the Cookie Monster!!

is that Ma'am form "Webster" ?

[tBBP]

Someone cue up the track...

...HERE WE GO (NA NA...NA NA...NAAHHH)

...HERE WE GO (NA NA...NA NA...NAAHHH)

...HERE WE GO, STEELERS....HERE WE GO...

...PITTSBURGH'S GOING TO THE SUPER BOWL.

And with that said, I am actually GLAD that I AIN'T in Pittsburgh right now (though I'd certainly rather be some other place then over here in the dirt--even though I'm on SHORT TIME!)...I promise that is about the most God-awul annoying-a$$ song I've ever heard (either that or Puhlamalu)...and I can still remember back in '05 when that song was literally played from, oh say, sunup to sundown, from about Week 11 on up to and through SB XtraLarge.

Having said all that...this is trip #7 for the Steelboyz, one shy of the record set by the Cowboys. Should they win, they'll be the winningest championship team at 6 since the inception of the Super Bowl...one more ring than the 'Boys in one less trip. And the city of Pittsburgh will literally shut down and turn into one huge-ass rave. I'm sure it's already in a ruckus now. And oh by the way...so is half the desert out here. Yep...Steeler Nation extends all the way across the Atlantic ito the Middle East. I'm living amongst it right now.

All of the above merely contributes to why I sincerely hope the CARDINALS take SB43 (heh...just realized that's Troy Puhlamalu's jersey number...let's see which ESPN pundit's the first to make that connection and run with it). People have been doubting this team from the first post-season game on up til now...and all they've done is make all the doubters eat their words. (By the way...is anyone besides me really anxious to see or hear what the hell Gene Wojciehowksi or whatever his last name is has to say now that he done had to eat up all them words he wrote a week ago??? How's that nice hot bowl of shutdafucup taste, Gene?) Even in here, people are saying the Cardinals have no chance. Keep on saying that...keep on discounting these Cardinals. They're feeding off that...relishing in it.

That said...this is going to be a GOOD game in two weeks. The Whisenhunt Bowl is upon us. And for the Stelboyz's sake, they better come up with an otherwordly plan to show down #11 in red. I know they got the #1 D and all, but nodody's been able to do it yet these playoffs. For the Cards, that front seven better find a way to mess with Benjamin's head early...or hope he's back to dealing with the bookies again (I kid...sorta ). I ain't necessarily saying "blitz"...just penetrate the O-line and create some pressure. Speaking of that D, if they continue to be as opportunistic as a whole as they have been all playoffs, and that O, particularly 13-to-11, continues to operate on HyperSonic mode, I think they can crack the Steel Curtain and---swallow this one--take a Lombardi Trophy back to 'Zona.

(Oh...and BTW, 'Zona by four. That's my prediction and I'm sticking to it. ;D )

[Sport]

This nightmare is happening all over again, this time I don't have an excuse to use when the Pittsburgh Steelers win it all. It's straight up jealousy. I don't have much left, but come on Cardinals, do it for me.

[BlueSky]

Predictions. Discuss. Etc.

Hey, thanks. I wasn't sure what to do here.

Just pulling your chain, man...it always cracks me up when people put that in a thread. It's like leaving a voicemail and hearing 30 seconds of directions from the animated voice, like without that you'd have no idea about how to actually speak your name and number after the beep.

The Cardinals are hot and Larry F'n Fitzgerald is unstoppable. That guy is seriously talented and it was very cool to see the sheer joy on his face when it became evident the Cards were finally goin' to the show. My wife claims he has a 'girl ass' but I really haven't verifed that and it doesn't seem to affect his playing ability in any way.

With all that said...having a 9-7 team from the worst division in football, that lost games by scores of 56-35, 41-17, 48-20, and 47-7, represent the NFC is a telling example of what parity is doing to the league. Not saying they don't deserve to go, they've earned it in the playoffs, but isn't it a little sad? Especially that game at New England - what a humilating embarassment for any professional team. They'd have earned more respect by just calling the NFL from Phoenix and saying, "Hey, we're just going to stay here this week and forfeit the game, ok?" Sure points out the difference between college football and the pros, doesn't it? Losing 4 by those scores would get a lot of major college coaches fired and would place a team in a different universe from the rankings...yet here the Cards are in the Super Bowl. Go figure.

As for the Steelers, what a good, tough team. Bit of a meltdown there at the end of the first half but they overcame it. Limas Sweed...well, not much to say there other than (cue John Malkovich), FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, how does an NFL WR drop that pass?? But that defense...wow.

I have no prediction other than that it'll be a good game. On paper, the Steelers run away with it. But the Cards seem to have whatever "it" is going for them right now. They're on a mission. Team of destiny and so forth. That's going to level the playing field.

Just one wish. No, not a wish, a plaintive, soul-baring wail to the uniform gods and whoever's choosing what the Cardinals will wear:

Please...

I am begging you...

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!

[Magnus]

Predictions. Discuss. Etc.

...having a 9-7 team from the worst division in football, that lost games by scores of 56-35, 41-17, 48-20, and 47-7, represent the NFC is a telling example of what parity is doing to the league. Not saying they don't deserve to go, they've earned it in the playoffs, but isn't it a little sad? Especially that game at New England - what a humilating embarassment for any professional team.

They'd have earned more respect by just calling the NFL from Phoenix and saying, "Hey, we're just going to stay here this week and forfeit the game, ok?" Sure points out the difference between college football and the pros, doesn't it? Losing 4 by those scores would get a lot of major college coaches fired and would place a team in a different universe from the rankings...yet here the Cards are in the Super Bowl. Go figure.

As for the Steelers, what a good, tough team. Bit of a meltdown there at the end of the first half but they overcame it. Limas Sweed...well, not much to say there other than (cue John Malkovich), FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, how does an NFL WR drop that pass?? But that defense...wow.

I have no prediction other than that it'll be a good game. On paper, the Steelers run away with it. But the Cards seem to have whatever "it" is going for them right now. They're on a mission. Team of destiny and so forth. That's going to level the playing field.

This kind of thing is exactly why I prefer a proper playoff over a "ranking" system. Arizona, much as I hate them, played well enough to qualify for post-season play, where the real battle happens.

My view on team sports is "you gotta play well enough to get to the big dance, but save your best stuff for when it really counts".

In this case, that is a playoff. And since Arizona has won 3 straight games, they are proving themselves when it really counts, in the playoffs.

Playoffs are a reward for the teams that work all season to get there. It eliminates the really bad teams, but doesn't discriminate against the teams that are still competitive, and deserve a shot at being crowned champion.

So I guess what I'm saying is...deep breath...

Go Cards. There is no way I can ever root for the Steelers because they stole Superbowl 40 from my Seahawks. I'm anti-Pittsburgh teams, as has probably been seen on this board numerous times, and that's not going to change any time soon.

[RedRenesis]

Steelers 56, Cardinals 0. I mean, do we really need to play the game? We all know the Steelers are going to win going away. In all seriousness, I'd be shocked if the Cards could keep it within 30.

I wanted to see the Eagles win just so that the Steelers wouldnt have to face Arizona. I think this match up creates some pretty bad problems for Pittsburgh, Russ Grimm and Wisenhunt both recently separated from the Steelers are very familiar with what they are going to bring to this game, the answer to this is LeBeau who hopefully can tweak this D enough to fool Arizona. The Steelers are also in for a helluva time trying to cover both Fitzgerald and Boldin, who should be completely healthy for the game.

But one thing I am extremely sure of is that the Steelers arent going to make this easy on themselves, they will end up having to grind this game out to hopefully pull out a win. I would be thrilled if they had this game secured early in the second half, and I wont have to sweat it out, but they wont.

[Swiss]

I know Jesus will be rooting for the Cardinals in the Super Bowl on the account of Warner, but before I make any bets I want to know who Moses, Mohamed, Buddha, the various Hindu Gods, Zeus, and the Flying Spaghetti Monster are all rooting for.

Buddha is down on The Cardinals. I believe Zeus is just playing the over/under and other bets that don't have anything to do with who wins. The Flying Spaghetti Monster is withholding his pick. I guess he's appearing on one of those TV shows where the guys claim that they will give you a guaranteed winner. The Monster will reveal his pick then. I haven't heard anything on the rest of them.

We all know that Zeus was rooting the Chargers. Now he could care less.

Wrong! Zeus always has rooted the Titans because they are Zeus' brethren.

[Swiss]

Superbowl between the Steelers and the Cards?

READ IT!

[IceCap]

I know Jesus will be rooting for the Cardinals in the Super Bowl on the account of Warner, but before I make any bets I want to know who Moses, Mohamed, Buddha, the various Hindu Gods, Zeus, and the Flying Spaghetti Monster are all rooting for.

Well we know Moses spent a lot of time in the desert, so....

[CZzyzx41]

My heart will be with the Cardinals but I'm half hoping the Steelers win in hopes that the fans will accidentally burn the entire city of Pittsburgh to the ground. Outside of Detroit it has to be the worst major city in the whole of the United States.

[OldRamsFan]

Steelers 56, Cardinals 0. I mean, do we really need to play the game? We all know the Steelers are going to win going away.

That's exactly what the pundits said when the Cards played Atlanta...and then when they played Carolina...and then when they played the Eagles.

And lest we forget, the pundits were dead wrong every time.

In all seriousness, I'd be shocked if the Cards could keep it within 30.

If that's your serious side, you'd make a great standup comedian.

[OldRamsFan]

Obviously looking forward to seeing the Steelers win their second Super Bowl in my lifetime. It surely is awesome being a Steelers fan.

Bah, you young 'un!

This will be the 7th time I'll be watching them in the SB. I still vividly remember watching Jackie Smith's endzone muff like it was yesterday.

The problem with the Cards is that they don't know how to put the game away. Today's game is a great case in point. Should the Steelers go up 18 on the Cards, you can count on the game being over because the Steelers DO know how to put games away.

And how do you expect the Steelers to go up 18 against the Cards? As we saw for 3 quarters yesterday, Warner can handle blitzes pretty darned effectively, zipping that ball out to anyone who's anywhere close to being halfway open.

Fine, double or triple cover Fitz. That leaves Boldin single covered. And Breaston. And the dump off to James, Hightower, or Arrington.

You see the point I'm making? They've got too many offensive weapons. When the Cards are on their game, that offense is almost unstoppable. No on can go up 18 points on them when they're on their game.

[jkrdevil]

Coming soon to a Super Bowl near you... The Return of the Cookie Monster!!

I saw her on the news a couple weeks ago right around Christmas time, she went from Johnny Unitas Jr. to Cindy McCain Jr.

Had to see this for myself, and....

Holy ! That's really her??

She still looks like an ugly old woman.

[Jigga]

Coming soon to a Super Bowl near you... The Return of the Cookie Monster!!

I saw her on the news a couple weeks ago right around Christmas time, she went from Johnny Unitas Jr. to Cindy McCain Jr.

Had to see this for myself, and....

Holy ! That's really her??

She still looks like an ugly old woman.

I'd hit it.

[DEAD!]

Had to see this for myself, and....

Holy ! That's really her??

She still looks like an ugly old woman.

She looks like Kathy Griffin

[vicfurth]

Local paper did a bit on the last few super bowls where a top-5 offense faced a top-5 defense. The defense actually won 60% of the time...

That being said, the ones that overcome a great defense had a top quarterback, such as Joe Montana (SB 24 over the Broncos) or Peyton Manning (SB 41 over the Bears). Kurt Warner has proved that he's one of the better quarterbacks of the past decade. Only reason his production's been down a few years was because of lack of faith or being passed off as a "mentor". And for those who say he's too old, ask yourself when John Elway won his first title or how old Warren Moon or Randall Cunningham was with Minnesota when they nearly made it. Heck, Montana nearly took the Chiefs to the Super Bowl when he was 37.

Also worth mentioning is that every time a said "top-tier" quarterback won one of these super bowls, he had multiple weapons including his go-to wide outs. Montana had Jerry Rice and John Taylor. Manning had/has Marvin Harrison and Reggie Wayne. Warner has Larry Fitzgerald and Anquan Boldin. None of those top-5 defenses had an answer for an offense that simply knew how to carve them up.

Granted, Pittsburgh has one of the greatest defense, in my opinion, of all-time this year. If you don't think so, just ask Willis McGahee from yesterday. However, Arizona has shown that, at least in the playoffs, their defense is nothing to sneeze at. They pressured McNabb all game yesterday. They kept two of the best running teams in the NFL down to almost nothing (in comparison to their [Carolina and Atlanta] usual production).

Pittsburgh doesn't have the weapons to pull away or run up the score, and Warner won't give their defense any gifts. The Steel Curtain is great, don't get me wrong, but they'll need another monster day to beat Arizona. They nearly lost to a Baltimore team that isn't very good on offense.

Arizona 28, Pittsburgh 20

[NJTank]

Well I know Kurt thanks Jesus for making his wife look better, and the Plastic surgeon.