SUPER SUNDAY

No excuse for the long absence, other than I was swamped with school, work, and other matters :)

Anyway, what better time than to make my comeback than just in time for the Super Bowl?!

As broken hearted as I am that my Patriots didn't make the playoffs, how can you not cheer for the formerly-lowly Arizona Cardinals? Yeah, the Pittsburgh Steelers are a tough-guy, blue collar team, but I really can't cheer for a team who's quarterback is referred to as just his first name, and a safety who has more hair than me (and I have a lot). Plus, the Steelers won it all just 3 years ago... I think it's time for someone else to take that silver football-topped trophy.

Reasons why I like the Cards and want them to win:

Let's start with my #1... Larry Fitzgerald. I've loved him since his days at Pitt, and I've had him on my fantasy teams most years, when I can get him. What's not to love? Acrobatic receiving skills that are pretty much unbelievable unless you witness them, he loves the game and doesn't showboat, he's from Minnesota (I have an affinity for men from there :-P ), his dad is a sportswriter, he's got an awesome Boston-Irish sounding name, and he was born in the best year ever, 1983.

Okay, so most of you probably only care about two of the above six reasons, but for me that hexagon of reasons adds up to him being my receiving bad-ass fave. Plus, he had three touchdowns in the FIRST HALF against Philly, and I don't like teams from Philadelphia, well, I don't like their fans and I enjoyed watching them cringe each time Fitz (yeah, that's what I call him, we're real close) ran into the end zone last Sunday.

Kurt Warner
Yeah, his wife is annoying and so is his sometimes "holier-than-thou" attitude... but really, the guy used to be a grocery bagger and has worked his ass off to get where he is. Plus, brother's mad old, and playing some of the best football of his career the past few weeks. He's not the MVP Kurt Warner of the "Greatest Show on Turf" (man I hated that team), but, I think more impressively, he's led a team of lesser-knowns to the same place - the Super Bowl.

Anyway, I have to cheer for the guy who put Matt Leinart in his place cause boy has let me DOWN. I was Leinart's biggest supporter coming out of college, I ever wrote an editorial raving about him when he came out of USC, how he was going to be a good, solid NFL quarterback. Instead, all pretty boy's done is show that he's more interested in partying and having a good time than being the Cards starting-QB. Anyway, I hope that Warner playing out of his mind at age 37 will show Leinart he isn't owed anything, he isn't God's gift to the quarterback position, and if he really wants to be a GOOD NFL quarterback, he needs to get back to the trenches and work his ass off.

Edgerrin James
First of all, I have to give props to his mom... anyone who comes up the name Edgerrin, henceforth giving his son the nickname "The Edge" is alright in my book.

There are many things to dislike about James... he went to the University of Miami, he used to have nasty dreds and gold teeth, and he left his plum job with the Colts to jet for more money in Arizona. All of that aside, a few weeks ago he was washed up, and now he's a key component to the Cards' playoff run. I almost felt bad for him a few weeks ago, when he had something like 90 yards in the six games leading up to the Super Bowl. But then, the coaches started utilizing him cause, let's be honest, the man can run. The man has somewhat quietly rushed his way to 12th on the all-time list, and since he's cut out his thug image that I think sets a bad example for young kids who look up to athletes, and now looks like this. Anyway, I'll be rooting for him to run all over the Steelers and their joke of a candidacy for "best defense ever." Speaking of...

The Steelers defense calling themselves the "best ever"
I hate any team or individual who calls themselves the best ever. Not only is it egotistical, its disrespectful to the historically great defenses. Now, you can't really compare a defense from the 60s to a defense today, when players are about 50 pounds heavier and pure muscle, but if the Steel Curtain teams of the 70s had the same training and facilities of the pansy 2008 Steelers, I have no doubt this question would be laughably answered in favor of the older teams. Plus, I really can't stand Troy Polamalu for some reason... I think it's the hair. I don't get why people he's trying to cover don't just pull it and call it a day.

Finally, I hate the "we're the underdog, no one believes in us!" role all underdog teams take, so I'm not going to give that to the Cards. That being said, I like rooting against to the expected winner*.

But really, in the end, unless you are a fan of either team, and let's be honest, there are maybe 100 "true fans" of the Cardinals, the Super Bowl is just an excuse to hang out with friends, eat lots of fatty, disgusting and delicious food and drink too much on a Sunday and have an legit excuse for it.

*unless it's my team, of course