Super Show

Super Bowl XLIII will go down as one of the greatest Super Bowls ever. But lets not get too excited and start calling it hands down the best ever.

It's human nature to call something the best ever after it just happened. The emotion and excitement are fresh in our minds.

Last summer you saw The Dark Knight and you leave the theatre saying it was the best movie you've ever seen along with the best acting performance.

You hear the latest Jay-Z, 50 cent, etc. song and immediately you consider the best song ever.

The same goes with Sunday's Super Bowl. In recent years, we have been spoiled by great Super Bowl showdowns.

Less we forget, when I was growing up, the Super Bowl meant an NFC team blowing out its AFC opponent, with the game usually over by halftime.

I grew up in the era of the 49ers and Cowboys dynasties that were far superior than the rest of the field. I grew up with the Broncos and Bills dominating the AFC only to get blown out of almost every Super Bowl they played in.

From 1980-1997, only 3 Super Bowls were decided by less than 10 points.

Of course every Steelers' fan will regard this Super Bowl as the best ever, but in the name of Terry Bradshaw are they forgetting 1979 and Super Bowl XIII? A 35-31 victory by the Steelers against a more formidable, more hated opponent-the Dallas Cowboys.

Yes, you can very easily argue that this year's Super Bowl may have been the greatest fourth quarter in the game's history, but for 3+ quarters, we really didn't miss much.

A first quarter that saw the Steelers run 19 plays to the Cardinals' 5. And yes, James Harrison's Pick 6 was incredible. But of course many will argue he was down before reaching the end zone or there was an illegal block on his return.

That Pick 6 was pretty much a 14 point swing which seemed to deflate any hope Arizona had to win the game. And with Arizona unable to do anything with the opening possession of the 2nd half, NBC cringed as I'm sure many viewers were already changing the channel are leaving their Super Bowl parties.

In fact, only 3 points were scored in the entire third period.

And then Larry Fitzgerald and the fourth quarter happened. And Ben Roethlisberger did his best Joe Montana impersonation and put together one of the greatest clutch drives in Super Bowl history.

Again, this was the best defense in the NFL going against a 9 win team. A team that limped into the post season. A team many thought didn't even deserve to be in the playoffs.

It was the Pittsburgh Steelers, rich in history and winning, against...the Arizona Cardinals, the red headed step child of the NFL.

The Patriots, Jets, Bears, Cowboys and Buccaneers each had at least 9 wins but failed to make the playoffs.

The Cardinals gave up 56 points to the Jets, 48 to the Eagles, and 47 to the Patriots. That's 151 points allowed in just 3 games.

The Pittsburgh Steelers gave up 223 in 16 games!

When it comes to great Super Bowls, yeah, this one makes the list, but how soon we forget.

In recent memory:
Last year's Giants/Patriots. 19-0 on the line and Eli Manning's scramble and pass/David Tyree's improbable catch-the best play in Super Bowl history.

How about any of New England's three Super Bowl wins?-All decided by 3 points.

Kurt Warner's only Super Bowl ring-2000 victory over Tennessee with the Titans falling one yard short on the final play!

1998-Broncos/Packers-one for the ages as two of the best quarterbacks of the era duke it out with Elway finally winning the big one. And who could ever forget his run on third down and making like a helicopter spinning for the first down.

1991-Giants/Bills (maybe my personal favorite)-Backup QB Jeff Hostetler leading the G-Men to an improbable victory and the game ending with Scott Norwood's missed field goal which denied Jim Kelly, Thurman Thomas, Bruce Smith, Andre Reed and Co. their one sure shot of a ring.

1989-Bengals/49ers II-Joe Montanta to John Taylor with 34 seconds capping a 92 yard game winning drive.

Arizona Heat

First off, Championship Sunday is better than Super Bowl Sunday.

Why? Championship Sunday gives you two great games, which history tells us, are usually a lot more exciting than the big one. Also, there's less hype and you have a better chance to sit down and actually watch the game. Super Sunday you're stuck at a party with a bunch of amateur fans who are there for the party and commercials.

Going into the NFC Championship game, my biggest question? How is Arizona a 4 point underdog? How can you make the home team an underdog in a Championship Game! Yeah, Arizona played in one of the weakest divisions and everyone thought the Cardinals didn't even belong in the Playoffs. But what about the Eagles? Philadelphia needed a couple of miracles on the final Sunday of the season just to make the playoffs.

The Eagles struggled to beat a mediocre Vikings' team. Than went into the Meadowlands to beat Giants team that limped into the playoffs losing 3 of four. You knew Philly's luck was gonna run out. And not to mention the Eagles' struggle in recent Conference Championship Games.

Another thing, Larry Fitzgerald is the best receiver in the NFL. He's Randy Moss on LSD. Fitzgerald doesn't even look like he runs full speed. He's carried the Cardinals to the Super Bowl. Heck, he set the NFL record for most receiving yards in the playoffs-419 yards, breaking Jerry Rice's 1988 record of 409.

Fitzgerald set a Conference Championship record with 3 first half touchdowns.

But give Donavan McNabb and Philadelphia a lot of credit. Down 24-6 at halftime, on the Eagles' first possession of the second half, McNabb was sacked by Adrian Wilson and fumbled the ball away to Arizona. The Cardinals were well on their way to a blow out.

Philadelphia kept their composure on the road and scored 19 unanswered points to somehow take a 25-24 lead in the fourth quarter! The Eagles owned the third quarter with 165 yards to Arizona's 4!

But Arizona showed they were the better team by putting together a Super Bowl drive. After losing a 24-6 lead and all of the momentum, the Cardinals put together a 14 play, 72 yard touchdown drive taking 7:52 off the clock.

Of course there were many critical plays on the drive. Arizona faced a fourth and 1(and season) near midfield. Ken Whisenhunt elected to go for it and Tim Hightower ran to the outside to pick up the biggest first down in the Cardinals' history.

Later in the drive, third and 1 from the 15, Hightower ran for another first down to give the Cardinals a first and goal. Three players later, Hightower finished the drive on a screen pass from Warner and found the end zone.

Arizona's defense held on. On 4th and 10, McNabb's final pass (as an Eagle?) fell incomplete to Kevin Curtis. There might have been some contact on the play, but both players seemed to slip and Curtis probably still should have made the catch. And in these types of games, you can't let the refs decide the outcome.

I think I might have been more impressed by the Cardinals' defense than anything else. They were able to shut down the run and get pressure on McNabb. Adrian Wilson came through on safety blitzes and finished with 7 tackles, 2 sacks and a forced fumble. Don't count out the Cardinals in the Super Bowl.

So for the first time ever, on to Tampa and the Super Bowl for the Arizona Cardinals! Congratulations!