ARIZONA
CARDINALS
FINAL SCORE: PITTSBURGH 27, ARIZONA 23
Post-game thoughts:
- For once I was relatively impressed with Bud Light's ads.
Punching a koala was hilarious. I miss FedEx, though.
- Bruce Springsteen was a huge disappointment.
- Jennifer Hudson did a good job-- there was soul, but not too much.
- I'm done making predictions. Oddly, I'm 4-1 against the spread
but 2-3 straight-up. I thought people were supposed to go 50/50 against
the spread...??
- That was a forward pass, not a fumble.
- Otherwise, the officiating was very good, much better than the
Steelers' last appearance.
SUPER
BOWL XLIII FULLERVISION STYLE
SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 1, 2009, 6:15 PM
RAYMOND JAMES STADIUM, TAMPA, FL
THE TEAMS:
Pittsburgh
Steelers
Pittsburgh Steelers
2008 Record: 14-4, Lifetime Super Bowl record: 5-1
The last time Pittsburgh played in the Super Bowl, the result was one
of the most controversially refereed Super Bowls in history, Super Bowl
XL. Several key players are still there (QB Ben Roethlisberger, RB
Willie Parker, and S Troy Polamalu) but are now led by head coach Mike
Tomlin. The philosophy remains mostly the same, a balanced offensive
attack led by Parker as the runner and WRs Santonio Holmes and Himes
Ward along with a punishing defense led by Polamalu. The team has won
five
Super Bowls, tied for the most Super Bowl wins of any NFL team, and
seek to surpass Dallas and San Francisco for most Super Bowl wins.
Arizona
Cardinals
2008 Record: 12-7, Lifetime Super Bowl record: N/A
The Cardinals, the oldest franchise in the NFL, have not won a
league title since they were the Chicago Cardinals, in 1947; their 1947
title is the only undisputed title the Cardinals have ever won (a
second title, 1925, is still disputed), and have never even appeared in
a Super Bowl. With Super Bowl veteran Kurt Warner (who led the St.
Louis Rams to a victory in Super Bowl XXXIV over the Tennessee Titans
and a near-miss in Super Bowl XXXVI against the New England Patriots.
Warner has two prime wide receiver weapons in Anquan Boldin and Larry
Fitzgerald.
Story lines:
Two teams, each going for their own piece of history. Three years ago
Pittsburgh got "one for the thumb" with their record-tying fifth Super
Bowl victory, and now they seek to surpass the Cowboys and 49ers for
sole possession of the title of "most Super Bowl wins ever." Last time
Pitt was here, they were the sentimental favorites and, according to
many, got a lot of favorable calls from the refs. That won't be
happening this year...
...because the surprise team of the year is the-- yes, believe it--
Arizona Cardinals, who are seeking only their second undisputed title
since 1947. Their 62 years without a title is the longest streak in
professional football history, and prior to this year hadn't reached
the playoffs since 1998. Needless to say, there are going to be a lot
of people who will see the Cards in the same light as the Boston Red
Sox of '04. It doesn't matter now that the Cardinals became the first
team since 1985 to clinch a playoff spot with only 8 wins.
TELEVISION: NBC TELEVISION
NETWORK (CTV IN CANADA)
Market
|
Call
|
TV
|
HD
|
New York City
|
WNBC
|
4
|
28
|
Buffalo
|
WGRZ
|
2
|
33
|
Rochester
|
WHEC
|
10
|
58
|
Syracuse
|
WSTM
|
3
|
54
|
Utica
|
WKTV
|
2
|
29
|
Elmira
|
WETM
|
18
|
2
|
Binghamton
|
WBGH
|
20
|
4.2
|
Albany
|
WNYT
|
13
|
12
|
Plattsburgh
|
WPTZ
|
5
|
14
|
Toronto
|
CFTO
|
9
|
40
|
Kitchener
|
CKCO
|
13
|
7
|
RADIO: WESTWOOD ONE (UNITED STATES AND CANADA)
50 kW broadcasts: WHAM 1180, WTAM 1100, WLW 700, WSCR
670, WFAN 660
Other: WGR 550, WJTN 1240, WACK 1420, WHEN 620, WOFX 980, WPIE
1160, WELM 1410, WENT 1340, WESB 1490, CJCL 590, CKGL 570
Sirius Channel 124*
BBC RADIO 5 LIVE SPORTS EXTRA (UNITED KINGDOM)
Sirius Channel 125*
Internet: Fuller Sports Broadcasting
*In addition to WW1 and BBC5, both
teams' feeds are available on other channels and two alternate
English-language feeds (PA announcer and statistician).
OFFICIAL WEB SITE:
http://www.superbowl.com/
MUSICAL ENTERTAINMENT
Pregame: Journey, John Legend, Faith Hill
Halftime: Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band
National Anthem: Jennifer Hudson
ODDS LINE:
Pittsburgh -7 (47)
PROJECTED SCORE: PIT 27, AZC 20
RECKLESS PREDICTION (Record:
2-2 straight up and 3-1 against the spread):
I REALLY, REALLY want to pick Arizona for this one, but logically I
just can't pass up Pittsburgh and their defense. Now, the last time I
said this, I was going against the grain and picked Chicago over Indy
in XLI, handing me my only total loss on the Reckless Prediction, and
then I said something similar with XLII and hedged my bet, resulting in
another straight-up miss but still getting the against-the-spread
victory. So... with that in mind...
... I'm going with my gut with a truly reckless prediction. Arizona
wins outright in what'll probably be seen as an upset, by a score of
either 14-10 or 17-10.
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