The Arizona Cardinals: A Real Feel Good Story

Like most fans of the NFL, I am fairly shocked about one team that is in the Super Bowl this year. Could anyone have predicted the Arizona Cardinals would win the NFC?

Later in the season on the AFC side I figured one of six teams would represent in Super Bowl XLIII: Steelers, Patriots, Colts, Titans, Ravens, or the Dolphins.

By playoff time the Patriots—the "worst" 11-5 team to not make the playoffs—were out of the running, and the Titans were pretty banged up.

In the Wild Card round I couldn't believe the fight that both the Colts and Chargers were putting up! I was thrilled, yet somewhat shocked that the Colts lost in overtime.

The Ravens were playing tough defensive football and were playing pretty smart on offense as well. Ravens, by nature, are smart birds. Baltimore didn't fall for Miami's Wildcat pitch once again, and Ed Reed knew exactly where to be once Chad Pennington's errant passes began to fly.

The Ravens would then take care of the Titans, the Chargers were had by the Steelers, and the Ravens finally met their final demise in Pittsburgh two weeks ago.

The result was the Steelers in the Super Bowl—no real surprise there.

On the NFC side of the football world, it was two completely unexpected teams that became proverbial wrecking balls.

The Eagles traveled to Minnesota, where they handily beat the Vikings late in the game.

The following week set the stage for what was thought to be at that time the best game of the weekend: Philadelphia Eagles at New York Giants—an NFC East grudge match.

Yet again, the Eagles played dominating defense and made the right plays on offense to get the win. An interception by Eagles' safety Quintin Mikell drove the final nail into the defending-Super-Bowl-Champion New York Giants' coffin.

Rest in pieces, Giants.

The other team-turned-wrecking-ball was the fourth seeded Arizona Cardinals.

They first hosted the Atlanta Falcons on Wild Card weekend. No one even gave the Cards an opportunity, and they were playing at home!

The Falcons had a really good running game with first year starter Michael Turner and Jerious Norwood to complement him.

Add to that the NFL Rookie of the Year, quarterback Matt Ryan and some lunch pail receivers and tight ends, and the Falcons were going places.

The Falcons did go places. They went to Arizona, got their tails whipped and went back home to Atlanta. See you next season.

The following week was even more amazing

—in more ways than one.

To begin, oddsmakers in Vegas started the Panthers out as 10-point favorites to beat the Cardinals. This did two things: it made the Cards mad, and it made the Cats overconfident.

The Arizona Cardinals, a team that went 0-5 during the regular season in East Coast games, had to travel to Charlotte, NC to face the second ranked Carolina Panthers—on a damp, rainy, miserable weather night.

The Panthers had a sketchy secondary, a very intimidating defensive front, an ugly offensive line, two viable threats at receiver, and the best running back tandem in the league.

A funny thing happened prior to the beginning of the game that night—I saw what I knew then to be an omen.

As I was about to change the channel, some type of Cardinals affiliated commercial came on TV.

Click to the channel the game was on and what's the first image I saw? From the NFL's commercial, "Feeling Like A Sunday, A Happy Go Funday," I see the girl bent down picking up papers she had dropped with that darn Cardinals logo tattooed on the lower of her back.

I knew then it was over for the Panthers. Call me ridiculous, but we see where the Cardinals are now.

I watched that game as the Panthers turned in the most horrible game of the 2008 season. The Cardinals absolutely picked the Panthers apart, and ran and threw the ball all over the Panthers' defense.

On NFC Championship weekend, the Cardinals played host, this time to the hot Philadelphia Eagles.

Everyone in America—everyone except the dozen or so true Cardinals fans—pretty much had Philadelphia pegged to win this one. It wouldn't be by a landslide, and this wouldn't be an easy game.

Yet again, I saw another premonition. It began on the opening kickoff, and I knew it dictated another Cardinals win. Eagles placekicker David Akers set the ball up on the tee, and while walking back to get in position to kickoff, the ball fell off the tee. No wind, no element to push it over. Heck, the roof of the stadium was closed!

The Eagles were doomed from kickoff. They made a great effort coming back from an 18 point deficit to take a one-point lead over the Cardinals, but I knew that would be the last time the Eagles would lead, and it was.

Here is the NFL's real Cinderella story.

It wasn't the Falcons, it wasn't the Dolphins, nor was it the Ravens. I was wrong three times.

I now know the Cinderella story this season is the Arizona Cardinals.

This is going to be a very exciting Super Bowl. At first I didn't think so, but over the two week period I've had some time to let the results sink in, and in doing so, I've figured out who will win this game.

Both the Steelers and Cardinals are very talented teams. Both teams have great leadership in their coaches and players. Both teams also have some really good playmakers.

The Steelers make a convincing argument why they will win the Super Bowl. They have the best defense in the league. Sure, they have an offense that finds ways to make plays, but the defense is the aspect that really carries this Steelers team. They also have 20 players with Super Bowl experience.

The Cardinals don't have such a convincing argument. They do have talent and experience. They also have some depth. Their defense is pretty much no-name, and on offense everyone pretty much says they have two playmakers: Kurt Warner to Larry Fitzgerald.

There's more to it than that for the Cardinals. I like that, and I am willing to bet that the Cardinals like that, too. More fodder for them to feed on. Already, I bet the Cards are underdogs.

There's also a difference between these two teams' mindsets.

The Steelers are going in with a bit of swagger. They've been here before; they're all too familiar with the hype. Their objective: "Get ring number six."

The Cardinals aren't going in with as much swagger. They know that to win this game they will have to work hard, play smart, and earn the right to be called Super Bowl Champions.

They've never been here before. The Cardinals have four or five men returning to a Super Bowl from other teams. Their mantra: "Nothing to lose."

I like the odds of a team that is playing for nothing to lose. I like that they are an underdog, and I hope the Steelers fans and organization don't get embarrassed like the Falcons, Panthers, and Eagles did.

The Cardinals were supposed to have lost three times, and three times they won in convincing fashion.

The only thing that could turn the tides slightly is the bye week going into the Super Bowl, which will make for a closer game.

On Sunday, everyone will be "seeing red." I take the Cardinals by two.