The Arizona Cardinals are going to win Super Bowl 43.

I am not one of those that crunches stats or does exhaustive analysis. I’m an observer. After moving to Phoenix just about two years ago and watching the Arizona Cardinals the past two seasons, here are my 4 reasons the Cardinals will win this year’s Super Bowl over the Pittsburgh Steelers.

  1. COACHING :: Coach Whisenhunt and his staff have created the expectation and spirit of winning which has been lacking in this organization for many years. There was a failure attitude in the team and fans until this year. I would always hear about how no matter how well the team was playing, they would find a way to lose. Not anymore. Whisenhunt is a winner and has overcome the spirit of losing and replaced it powerfully with the expectation of winning. Ironically, he is the former offensive coordinator for the Steelers when they won Super Bowl 40!
  2. OFFENSE / Specifically Kurt Warner and Larry Fitzgerald :: I am amazed at the lack of respect Kurt Warner gets. He has one of the highest career ratings at quarterback. He is a past Super Bowl Champion and 2-time most valuable player. As a matter of fact, he is only one of four quarterbacks in the history of the game to win that award both for the league and the Super Bowl in the same year. With Larry Fitzgerald as the premier wide receiver in the league as his primary target, they will put up some points — just ask the Philadelphia Eagles, who had one of the top defenses in the league. The Steeler defense is suspect at the corner positions, ironically the biggest strength of the Cardinal offense. I will add that the character of both these guys on and off the field is beyond amazing. These are the guys you want to go to battle with.
  3. DEFENSE :: Not the Steeler defense but the Cardinal defense! These guys play tough, aggressive football. If they go off, the game could be a blowout in favor of the Cards. They are the reason the team has not had a losing season the past two years, something that had only been accomplshed twice in the last 20 years in this organization. I believe this defense will make the plays and stop the Steeler offense. In contrast, the Steeler defense is faced with the dilemma of how to stop the Card’s offense. If they blitz, as the Eagles did, Warner will find his receivers quickly, as he has proven the ability to do over his career. If they don’t blitz, this will allow Warner time to go to Fitzgerald for the big play. I also believe that there is an advantage to Whisenhunt having had to go against this defense every day when he was the offensive coach at Pittsburgh. I think he will have Warner prepared to make the right reads.
  4. THE DARKER UNIFORMS :: Call me crazy, but Arizona will be wearing the RED jerseys and the Steelers the white uniforms and this is an advantage. Many years ago a friend told me that his old high school coach taught them that the darker jerseys were always an advantage. You look bigger, stronger, and tougher. I know that in the PRO game this would never be considered, but why not? These guys all have some very real rituals and superstitions. The RED jerseys are going to be an advantage for this game.

I am confidently predicting a Cardinal Super Bowl victory. And yes, I have stepped up and backed this up in a couple of ways. First, I have put my job on the line by daily challenging my manager, a native of Pittsburgh! I will bring her and the team bagels if her Steelers win, and she will bring the same if the Cardinals win.

For the first time I have splurged and bought an NFL replica game jersey, which I will be proudly wearing while watching the game.

Here it is, just hanging around waiting for the big game. For those uninformed, that is Warner’s number. I hope to make it over to Las Vegas to watch the game with some friends from Colorado. I think we will look like a pretty tough group in those red jerseys … follow up story to come. Stay tuned.

GO CARDS!!