46 Comments - bored on 1 - Wednesday, Jan 28, 09 @ 11:45 am: the wife is a Steelers fan, and I like DALLAS, CONVicted felons and all. so I will root for Pittsburgh for the sake of the marriage, but in my heart…Go Warner,,,he is a great guy. - 47th Ward - Wednesday, Jan 28, 09 @ 11:45 am: It would be sort of nice to see the Cardinals win, and in order for them to pull it off, it would have to be a very exciting game. I hate boring Super Bowls. The Steelers, though, look way too tough. I haven’t seen the line yet, but right now I’m taking the Steelers and giving the points. - HearMeRoar - Wednesday, Jan 28, 09 @ 11:52 am: Arizona by 3. Kurt Warner will always have a place in my heart for leading my beloved yet gravy-sucking Rams to the Super Bowl. Go, Kurt!!! - Card fan - Wednesday, Jan 28, 09 @ 11:56 am: The team used to be in St. louis too. Go cards. That being said, I wouldn’t bet money on the cards. Pitt’s way too tough. - Cynic - Wednesday, Jan 28, 09 @ 12:05 pm: Pittsburgh. They’re simply a better all-around team. Although the Cardinals have a very good passing game, I think the difference will be the Steelers ability to chew up clock with their run game. But I’m rooting for the Cards all the same. Always nice to see a new team win. - PeoriaBob - Wednesday, Jan 28, 09 @ 12:10 pm: And Cards played at….the old Comiskey Park! - BehindTheScenes - Wednesday, Jan 28, 09 @ 12:11 pm: I’m with you, Rich - Cardinals. They looked better in the play-offs. And, while it’s hard to say Warner “deserves” to win, it’s also hard to say he doesn’t. - Anon - Wednesday, Jan 28, 09 @ 12:12 pm: Pittsburgh, just to prove to the Cubs that you can’t shake a Chicago curse by moving from Chicago, so they might as well stay. - wordslinger - Wednesday, Jan 28, 09 @ 12:17 pm: The Cards are on a rip and a great story, but Steelers by 8. Willie Parker’s healthy, so the Steeler ground game is back, opening up play action to Hines Ward (he’ll play), Santonio Homes and Jason Miller. Cards D has played well in playoffs, but the Patriots dropped 50 on them in Week 17. The Cards will score, but Dick Lebeau has had two weeks to prepare his No. 1 defense. They’ll stuff Edgerin James, forcing Warner (who the Bears couldn’t be bothered with two years ago when the Giants let him go) to rely on his great wideouts. By making the Cards one dimensional, the Steelers will loose their linebackers in zone blitzes and force at least two picks. Larry Fitzgerald might be the best player/athlete on the field — except for Troy Polamalu, the best player/athlete in football. He’ll limit Fitzgerald’s effectiveness, make three big plays and be the game MVP. - The Unlicensed Hand Surgeon - Wednesday, Jan 28, 09 @ 12:18 pm: Steelers, for no other reason than to prove to Kurt Warner that God doesn’t care who wins football games. - Speaking At Will - Wednesday, Jan 28, 09 @ 12:18 pm: Super Bowl Predict. Cards 33 Steelers 27 Maybe a Rod could be halftime entertainment? After all, those jump suits he wears are wardrobe malfunctions in and of themselves. - Juice - Wednesday, Jan 28, 09 @ 12:19 pm: Wow, stop diggin’ at those Cubbies!! This is the year! - Amy - Wednesday, Jan 28, 09 @ 12:20 pm: can’t predict cause I’m blinded by rooting for the Cardinals. same south side love in honor of the the old guys rooting for the team that left them after 1959. Plus, the Sox new spring training digs are in Glendale, so….. - Downstate weed chewing hick - Wednesday, Jan 28, 09 @ 12:24 pm: The line is Pitt -7. And I hear that the PR machine has lined up a halftime interview for Rod with Michele Tafoya where he will claim that the Senate rules prevented him from bringing Rahm Immanuel to the game with him. - RobRoy - Wednesday, Jan 28, 09 @ 12:26 pm: Steelers due to experience and a little tougher defense. Though Warner’s got the Jesus factor going. If Cards win and they ask Warner where he’s going, he’ll say ,”I’m going to heaven!” Hah - Blago Sphere - Wednesday, Jan 28, 09 @ 12:26 pm: I predict that wagering (both illegal and legal) will be down from past years based on the economic uncertainties, increased unemployment, and diminshed travel to Las Vegas. - PPHS - Wednesday, Jan 28, 09 @ 12:27 pm: I had to bite the bullet when the kids were a Pleasant Plains’ Cardinal. I think that Kurt Warner has this wrapped up. - Ghost - Wednesday, Jan 28, 09 @ 12:31 pm: Steelers, because , um, the steele industry needs our support to revivie it. - Leatherneck - Wednesday, Jan 28, 09 @ 12:35 pm: I like both teams–so I’ll root for an exciting, memorable Super Bowl instead (hopefully coming down to the last play a la Kurt Warner’s first Super Bowl–SB XXXIV). Also, although this is the NFL and they haven’t been in Chicago since 1959 (and basically were the South Side’s NFL team), I’ve always found the name “Chicago Cardinals” to be somewhat of an anomaly, IMO. - Anon - Wednesday, Jan 28, 09 @ 12:37 pm: I’m predicting a Cardinals victory. Don’t forget that Whisenhunt is intimately familiar with Dick Lebeau’s blitzing schemes and will know how to neutralize the pass rush and open up some running lanes. I don’t care how good of a defense the Steelers have. If Warner has enough time in the pocket, Fitzgerald, Breaston, and Boldin will have a field day. The Steeler’s grind-it-out style could be their undoing. If they fall behind early, they’ll have to abandon their running game, and while Big Ben and Hines Ward are a very good QB-WR combo, they don’t even come close to their counterparts across the field. As for defense, the Cardinals absolutely crushed the Panthers and pretty much dominated the Eagles too. The final weeks of the season I believe were a strategy to make everybody think they were going nowhere in the playoffs. On the Steelers D, Ryan Clark and Polamalu can only do so much to cover three exceedingly good WRs. The Steelers corners and safeties are frequently used for blitzing which opens up the big play opportunities. Unless the Steelers come up with a whole new scheme, I don’t see how they’re going to keep Warner in check. Cardinals 30 Steelers 17 …But I’m mostly just watching for the commercials. - msnyder275 - Wednesday, Jan 28, 09 @ 12:44 pm: Cards got by the Eagles on a trick play and an imploding Eagles kicker. No way they get that lucky twice. - Baltimoron - Wednesday, Jan 28, 09 @ 12:45 pm: After what they did to my beloved Ravens in the AFC Title game, I will be rooting for Arizona. I am a Steelers Hater. That said, given that they knocked out a Ravens team that (at the time) was on a big winning streak, I think they will beat the Cardinals who have only been hot for the past two games after limping into the playoffs. But I do hope the Arizona Air Show can put up some points. I’ll go Pitt 27 (with one TD scored by their Defense) Arizona 17. - Yellow Dog Democrat - Wednesday, Jan 28, 09 @ 12:46 pm: I’m rooting AGAINST the Cardinals. I grew up in the Metro-East, where we all watched Bill Bidwell drive the St. Louis Cardinals into the ground, just so he could get the league’s permission to move the team to Phoenix. The Dallas Cowboys were equally vilified during the 80’s, owing to their Yankee-sized egos. And I still remember asking my uncle who he cheered for when the Cardinals played Dallas. His response: “I root for injuries.” Go Steelers! - Ravenswood Right Winger - Wednesday, Jan 28, 09 @ 12:47 pm: Cardinals 28 Steelers 24. Should be a good game. Rooting for Cardinals because my father, loyal south sider, grew up as a Chicago Cardinals fan. - He Makes Ryan Look Like a Saint - Wednesday, Jan 28, 09 @ 12:50 pm: Thanks for the Cub Love Rich, your one heck of a guy. Cardinals win by 10. Take the under. - Segatari - Wednesday, Jan 28, 09 @ 12:51 pm: Cardinals upset the Steelers…just like they upset Atlanta, Carolina and Philly. Kurt Warner disproves the claim Arizona is where football careers go to die. Yes I while I warmed up to the Rams when they moved to St. Louis and won a Super Bowl I’ve kept my empathy for the Big Red long after they moved away. - Pot calling kettle - Wednesday, Jan 28, 09 @ 12:54 pm: According to a panelist on “Wait, Wait” the NPR news quiz, Bush’s Oval Office note to Obama read: “Cardinals 24, Steelers 17, and next year you get to pick who wins.” - Frank Booth - Wednesday, Jan 28, 09 @ 1:08 pm: Suprebowl Champion Arizona Cardinals Gov. Patrick Quinn What do you think the line was a year ago on those two things possibly happening this weekend? - Nice Suit - Wednesday, Jan 28, 09 @ 1:09 pm: Ditka 103, The combined Steelers and Cardinals, 2. With 22 men against 1, they will get a saftery. Ditka’s gotta be winded in the waning seconds of the 4th… - Jacksonville - Wednesday, Jan 28, 09 @ 1:16 pm: AZ 24 - 21 playing like the NYG did last year. - Bluefish - Wednesday, Jan 28, 09 @ 1:55 pm: Emotionally, I should be cheering for the Steelers. But I think the Cards will pull this off. Their offense matches up well against the Steelers in that they are not a run first team and will not be fazed by the blitz. The Cards D has also been finding ways to get it done and with Hines Ward playing (or not) with a sprained knee the Steelers O may be a bit limited. - Captain Flume - Wednesday, Jan 28, 09 @ 1:59 pm: Cardinals. They weren’t supposed to get this far, but they did, and not by luck. It will hopefully be an exciting game, though. - carbon deforestation - Wednesday, Jan 28, 09 @ 2:09 pm: I’m going with the Steelers by 3, but don’t really care. Why? the Cardinals used to be in St. Louis. As a Cub fan, I hate all things STL. Warner also a former StL. hate Kurt Warner. Lastly, Rich you are not very good at sports and non-political predictions so no way you are right on this one. Defense wins. Go Steelers. - Rich Miller - Wednesday, Jan 28, 09 @ 2:11 pm: ===Lastly, Rich you are not very good at sports and non-political predictions so no way you are right on this one.=== I predicted the Cubs would choke last year in the playoffs, didn’t I? lol - Reddbyrd - Wednesday, Jan 28, 09 @ 2:14 pm: How can not be for a team named the Cardinals??? Especially when they played in Chicago and STL. Who could for the Stealers? Blagoof types? Plus the have old gu from the Arena League at QB - myguess - Wednesday, Jan 28, 09 @ 2:25 pm: Steelers 35 Arizona 14. Steelers #1 Defense frustrates K. Warner all day long. Arizona’s D slows down Pitts running game, but “my guy” Hines ward is going to run all over the field. - TT - Wednesday, Jan 28, 09 @ 2:41 pm: Arizona by 14… The Steelers have are going to have an off day with these Super Bowl rooks lighting up the field. Look for Warner to throw all over them. And look for Fitzgerald and Boldin to make a case for the best active tag team receivers this year. - Deeo South - Wednesday, Jan 28, 09 @ 2:45 pm: This blog certainly has a Chicago/upstate kinda vibe. Man!!! Before the Rams came to St. Louis, there was no football teams to root for if you lived in Southern Illinois. I mean the Bears were 6 hours away. But before we had no team to root for, we had the Cardinals. I remember the Cardiac Cards back in the 70s when Jim Hart was the QB. I got a lot of fond memories watching, and cheering the Cards. Of course, they never seemed to get too far. Well, they eventually moved to Arizona and now they’re in the Super Bowl. Great! And they’re in the Super Bowl with the same QB who took the Rams to the Super Bowl. Yep, I’m rooting for the Cards…..But hey the Steeler were something weren’t they, when they had the steel curtain and Bradshaw. Now that was a football team!!!!1 - Dan S, a Voter and Cubs Fan - Wednesday, Jan 28, 09 @ 3:10 pm: Steeler by 7, they are just a better team. - Z - Wednesday, Jan 28, 09 @ 3:25 pm: Rich, if you knew the AZ wing of that family as I do you would never cheer for the Cards. Go Steelers! - Jaded - Wednesday, Jan 28, 09 @ 3:38 pm: I predict I’ll drink and eat too much and feel like crap on Monday. I also predict I’ll complain all day Monday why they can’t have the Superbowl on Saturday so I wouldn’t feel so bad on Monday. Further, I predict the commercials will start stong but begin to suck well before the 3rd quarter. Finally I predict that Troy Polamalu will hit somebody so hard they will forget their name. Those are my predictions. - culatr - Wednesday, Jan 28, 09 @ 3:45 pm: Blowout Steelers win. AZ’s luck will run out this time. Pitt’s defense wins the turn-over battle and their LB’s prevent Warner from getting the ball to Fizgerald. Thereby, forcing AZ to depend on the run. No way the “Edge’ beats Steelers! Steelers win 27-3. - Honest Abe - Wednesday, Jan 28, 09 @ 3:47 pm: Rich, Can you overlook the fact that the Cardinals used to share Wrigley with the Chicago Bears BEFORE moving to Comiskey Park? - Stayathomemom - Wednesday, Jan 28, 09 @ 4:57 pm: Who is in the Super Bowl? I stopped watching football since Da Bears last game. I think that was the first game of the season. - The Federalist - Wednesday, Jan 28, 09 @ 6:05 pm: Oh say it ain’t so! Aren’t the Bears playing?:-( - wordslinger - Wednesday, Jan 28, 09 @ 6:58 pm: YDD, the Bill Bidwill didn’t intentionally tank to move out of San Lou. They were doing their best. The NFL is all about parity, a la Pete Rozelle. Along with the Detroit Lions William Clay Ford, he is a third generation “sportsman” who was bound to get lucky, despite himself, at some point. Sorry, comments for this post are now closed.