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Tampa's 4th Super Bowl Will Have Steel, Surreal Feel

Photos from The Associated Press

Pittsburgh's Ben Roethlisberger and Arizona's Larry Fitzgerald give Super Bowl XLIII some welcome star power.

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By MARTIN FENNELLY

mfennelly@tampatrib.com

Published: January 19, 2009

It's Steel vs. Surreal.

The Pittsburgh Steelers and the ... who?

The Arizona Cardinals, that's who.

We have our teams for Tampa Super Bowl IV, or Super Bowl XLIII if you keep track of the ones not played here. The big game is set. Date: Feb. 1. Destination: Raymond James Stadium. Raheem Morris is interviewing for the halftime show as we speak.

This Super Bowl is a study in contrasts, and not just the Cardinals' high-flying offense against the Steelers' impregnable defense.

Here come the Steelers, all that black and gold and history, out to break the deadlock with the Cowboys and 49ers and become the first NFL franchise to win six Super Bowls. You know how much they love their six-packs in Pittsburgh.

And, yes, here come - drum roll, please, stow the seal horns - the mighty Cinderella Cardinals, who emerge from the desert after 60 years of wandering the NFL. Reality just sat on a cactus.

The Cardinals are the greatest Out of Nowhere in Super Bowl history.

Now there are only six teams not to have made the NFL's ultimate game: Lions, Browns, Saints, Texans, Jaguars and L.A. Clippers.

In the bad old days, no matter where they ended up, Chicago, St. Louis, Phoenix, the Cardinals forgot to pack winning seasons. Sunday, they won their third playoff game in three weeks, or three times as many as in the previous 61 years. The Cardinals last won a championship in 1947. The only team that has gone longer without one is the Chicago Cubs.

Need anything else?

We'll miss the Philadelphia Eagles, who lost to the Cardiac Cards in Sunday's NFC title game. We'll light a big candle for Philly fans who would have constantly reminded Rays fans about the World Series.

We'll miss the Baltimore Ravens, who fell to the Steelers in the AFC title game. The Ravens are old Care Bear chums from the last Tampa Super Bowl. I still have my Kevlar notebook from media day.

Who cares?

We've got what we wanted.

We've got high-tensile Pittsburgh tradition. We've got Steelers coach Mike Tomlin, one of 214 Bucs defensive backs coaches to become a head coach. We've got the Steelers owners, the fabulously beloved Rooneys.

And we've got the anti-Rooneys, the Bidwills of Arizona, including old Tight Pockets himself, Cardinals owner Bill Bidwill, who Sunday night, looking like something out of the Hall of Presidents at Disney, proudly accepted the George S. Halas Trophy for winning the NFC Championship. In other news, he did not try to pawn it.

The Cardinals come loaded with stories, including head coach Ken Whisenhunt, the Steelers offensive coordinator when Pittsburgh won its last Super Bowl. And there's Larry Fitzgerald, who attended the University of Pittsburgh before he enrolled in receiver school on Mars.

Don't forget Edgerrin James, lovable, nutty Edge, who was a laughingstock when he left Tony Dungy's safe house in Indianapolis for the then eternally awful Cardinals. Tony won a Super Bowl. Joke was on Edge. Now look. Last, but not least, there's our favorite former grocery store clerk, Kurt Warner, who won the Bowl for the Rams and is back to win one with the Cardinals.

You know, this computer wouldn't type Cardinals and Super Bowl in the same sentence the first nine times I tried.

Ah, another Tampa Super Bowl. Tampa I was 25 years ago, a blowout, Raiders against Redskins. Tampa II was Giants wide right over the Bills, one for the ages, if not the Norwoods. Tampa III was another mismatch, the Ravens crushing the Giants. The only person on the edge of his seat during that one was the limo driver praying his 1 a.m. pickup, Lewis, party of five, would fall through.

So it's on. Bruce Springsteen will perform. Jennifer Hudson will sing the national anthem. Faith Hill will sing "America the Beautiful." And Whitney Houston will throw a glass of grain alcohol at her television screen and scream "Who they kidding? I still got it!"

Enough of that.

It's Steelers-Cardinals.

Sherman tank meets Cinderella's coach.

Steel meets Surreal.

Ours, all ours.

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