The Good Guys Will Win

There is a reason that the Steelers are one of the country's most followed and beloved sports teams. It's because they have classy ownership, always show a strong committment to winning, and take pride in what they do. One needs to look no further than Pittsburgh's own division to find the stark contrast between them and the typical NFL franchise. In the rest of the AFC North, one team prides themselves on being scumbags, one team is so incompentent that it fails at almost everything it tries, and the other team recently sold its soul to re-sign a 3rd down slot receiver. We love the Steelers because they don't do stuff like that. They always seek coaches and players who, while by no means are perfect, work hard and reflect the values that the city was built on. However, Pittsburgh does not have a monopoly on being the NFL's "good guys". In fact, if there was one team I was really rooting for in this year's playoffs, it was the team who will now face the Steelers in the Super Bowl.

The Arizona Cardinals certainly do not have the same storied tradition that we have here in Pittsburgh. They barely even have a history in any city. They are the NFL's oldest franchise, but they have played under so many different names (Racine Cardinals, Chicago Cardinals, St. Louis Cardinals, Phoenix Cardinals) that it's hard to remember that they started playing games in 1899, some 20 years before the league even formed. It also doesn't help that they had one playoff win between 1947 and 2007. Before that they won two NFL championships, but even one of those (the 1925 title) is still under dispute to this day.

While the Cardinals have little tradition to speak of, they too have been owned by the same family since the 1930's. Like Art Rooney in the early years, the Bidwill family struggled for decades to produce a winner. Finally, they turned to the Steelers for help. In 2007, they hired a Steelers coach to lead their team. They also finally figured out what so many teams just never get - that winning in the NFL is largely dependent on building good team chemistry. Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie put it best when he watched Pittsburgh win a Super Bowl the same year that Terrell Owens nearly single-handedly destroyed his franchise: "On paper you wouldn't say [teams like the Steelers] would win Super Bowls, but if you don't have the chemistry, the talent and the help, with high-character people, you're not going to survive." Build a team of good guys - good in both talent and character - and eventually the wins start coming. For Arizona, that formula has brought them within one game of making history.

Ken Whisenhunt did not have an easy job in Pittsburgh. For years the Steelers were a defense-first team and offensive coordinators were often chewed up and spit out rather quickly. Whisenhunt changed all that. His innovative style helped carry the Steelers thru the 2005 playoffs, and in the Super Bowl he called the Randle El reverse pass that won the Steelers the game. Steelers fans everywhere owe a debt of gratitude to Wiz. That 2005 championship team had other great coaches on it too. Russ Grimm was the offensive line and assistant head coach. He was beloved by his players and built an unstoppable running attack. Kevin Spencer was hired by the Steelers after their special teams literally cost them the season in 2001, and he turned that unit completely around. Now all three coaches have turned the Cardinals into winners as well.

It's been nine years since Kurt Warner came out of nowhere to lead the Rams to arguably the most improbable title run in NFL history. During that time, he won a second league MVP award, lost his job in both St. Louis and New York, and rebounded with the Cardinals even though he was brought there primarily to keep the seat warm for Matt Leinart. He is a great quarterback and a consumate leader who now deserves serious consideration for the Hall of Fame. As admirable as Warner is on the field, he really shines off of it. He is never afraid to boldy share his faith in Christ despite the fact that the media is determined to scorn him for it and bleep out his comments wherever they can. When he goes to dinner with his family on the weekend of a game, they pick out some other family in the restaurant and anonymously pay their bill for them. He has literally helped thousands of people via his First Things First Foundation. He carries his Bible to press conferences. He is a great Christian example for his teammates and his fans.

When Larry Fitzgerald was a high school senior, he wanted nothing more than to play for Penn State. But after visiting the campus and realizing that his career would go nowhere playing for a human corpse, he decided to come to Pittsburgh instead. At Pitt, he instantaneously became a superstar. Pittsburgh had seen great football players before, but few had the ability to make your jaw absolutely drop in awe the way Fitzgerald did. He made play after play after play - diving catches, leaping grabs, fade pattern touchdowns - on his way to becoming Pitt's best shot at a Heismann since Tony Dorsett (Fitzgerald came in second to Oklahoma's Jason White in the 2003 Heismann balloting - definitely a good call by the morons who made that decision given the fact that White did nothing after that point). In a town where so many elite guys have played, Fitzgerald has to be considered one of the top five football players in Pittsburgh sports history. After leaving Pitt, Fitzgerald continued to make waves in the NFL. In the past three weeks, he has clearly distinguished himself as the single BEST player in pro football right now. Teams simply do not have an answer for him. He caught three touchdowns in the first half - the first half! - of the NFC Championship Game. You can double or triple cover him, but he gets open no matter what. He is also redefining the position. For years NFL receivers have been all about me-first flare - Michael Irvin, Keyshawn Johnson, Terrell Owens, Chad "Ocho Cinco" - the list goes on and on. But Fitzgerald just hands the ball to the ref after he scores, just like he used to do when he caught all those touchdowns at Heinz Field. Imagine that - a humble wide receiver who doesn't think he is bigger than the game. What a novel concept.

The Cardinals also feature multiple ex-Steelers like Clark Haggans, Sean Morey, Jerame Tuman, and Brian St. Pierre - all guys who were decent contributors in Pittsburgh (well ok, maybe not Frenchy, but the other three were). That's not even the extent of the Pittsburgh connection. LB Gerald Hayes played at Pitt with Fitzgerald. WR Steve Breaston went to Woodland Hills High and starting guard Reggie Wells went to South Park. It's no wonder that the Cardinals are often called "Pittsburgh West".

Don't get me wrong - I want the Steelers to beat this team as badly as anyone else. I will be incredibly disappointed if they lose, as will the rest of The Nation. At least there is consolation in knowing that an admirable team who is deserving of a championship would be the ones to take us down, which is the complete opposite of what happened the last time we lost a Super Bowl. It also says a lot that the opponent that Pittsburgh is up against is a team who general manager Rod Graves said "wanted to mirror Steeler-type football" when they started rebuilding a couple of years ago. This much is certain: regardless of the outcome on Sunday, the good guys will prevail.

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